The most
formidable of these torrential rivers is the Nizao which flows into
the Caribbean Sea near Point Palenque. In the lower part of this
river's course its bed is about a mile wide, of which only a small
portion is covered by the several branches of the river, the remainder
being taken up with sandbanks, gravel beds, marshy tracts and stagnant
bayous; and so frequently and erratically does the river change its
channels, and to such sudden rises is it subject, that the local
authorities are obliged to keep guides stationed on its banks almost
continuously, in order to direct travelers across.
The rapids and cascades of Dominican streams are pregnant with
possibilities, but up to the present time they have remained in their
pristine condition, nor is their energy utilized to drive a single
piece of machinery. The largest and most beautiful waterfall of the
island is doubtless that of the Jimenoa River, in the mountains some
ten miles south of the city of La Vega, where the Jimenoa rushes over
a precipice one hundred feet in height, producing clouds of spray and
a roar that can sometimes be perceived as far as Jarabacoa, six miles
away.
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