Dominican Republic Key Facts Continued….

• The national tree of the Dominican Republic is West Indian mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni), and the national flower is the Bayahibe Rose (Leuenbergeria quisqueyana). The national bird is the palmchat (Dulus dominicus). We do not – yet – have a national fruit.

• The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish.

• The Dominican Republic is home to both the highest peak in the Caribbean - Pico Duarte in the Central Mountain Range (3,098 meters above sea level), and the lowest point in the Caribbean - Lake Enriquillo between the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia (46 meters below sea level).

• Lake Enriquillo is also the largest lake in the Caribbean.

• Wildlife fauna in the Dominican Republic includes the unusual solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus), a very rare venomous mammal, and the rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta), a large lizard. Both species are endemic, so you won't find them anywhere else.

• Movies filmed in the Dominican Republic include The Godfather II, Jurassic Park, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

• The colonial city in the capital Santo Domingo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• The Columbus Lighthouse, or Faro a Colon, in Santo Domingo, was designed in the 1930s and finally completed in 1992, in time for the 500th anniversary of the European arrival in the Americas.

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