MONTECRISTI

province, northwestern Dominican Republic, bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by Haiti. Established in 1879, the province covers 768 sq mi (1,989 sq km). It occupies the western part of the fertile Valle del Cibao and is drained by the Yaque del Norte River, which is used extensively for irrigation. Montecristi is the leading rice producer of the Dominican Republic and has significant tobacco and banana production. The province is traversed by secondary highways, and Montecristi (q.v.) city, the provincial capital, is the terminus of a paved highway from Santo Domingo. Pop. (1981) 83,407. in full San Fernando de Montecristi city, capital of Montecristi province, northwestern Dominican Republic, in the coastal lowlands near the mouth of the Ro Yaque del Norte. Founded in 1506, Montecristi was destroyed in 1606 for trading illegally with pirates; it was not reconstructed until 1756. It is now an important commercial and transportation centre, trading mainly in the rice, cotton, coffee, bananas, and goats from the western portion of the fertile Valle del Cibao. Hides and skins constitute the principal exports handled at the adjacent harbour. Montecristi is the terminus of a paved highway from Santo Domingo and has an airfield. Pop. (1981) 9,265.