Draft:Bao Valley

The Bao Valley (Valle de Bao) is one of the highest intermontane valleys of the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic.

Geology
The era of formation of these mountains was the cretaceous, which began 60 million years ago. The area was formed by a chain of volcanos whose original material created the interior, giving way later to extrusive igneous rocks through the heating of the planetary crust. This zone is the oldest on the island and saw various glacial periods.

The Bao Valley (1800 m.s.n.m) is found on the slopes of Pico Duarte, the highest peak in the Antilles, with an average height of 3,175 (m.s.n.m) measured by the swedish botanist Erik Ekman, and which has been judged to be the most beautiful mountain in the Dominican Republic, by the dominican conservationist doctors Juan Bautista Pérez and Miguel Canela Lázaro, and others.

Climate
This valley is the source of the river of the same name, the Bao river, one of the most important rivers in the country. The dominant average temperature is generally cool, principally in the winter when it experiences important drops in temperature. In the months of December and January, the temperature drops below 0 °C (32° Fahrenheit). At sunrise during the winter, frost covers the floor of the valley. Precipitation oscillates between 1000 to 3500 mm annually, however it can experience rainfalls above 4000 mm.

The Bao valley is made up of a treeless plain, characterized by being very wide and flat.

Flora and Fauna
The humid deciduous forest rises to just over 2,000 meters in elevation. The Bao valley is found above this elevation, so the only tree species present is the Hispaniolan Pine (pino criollo). The only epiphyte that is found here is the conde de pino (Dendropemon pycnophyllus), which parasitizes the pines.

The herbaceous substrate is dominated by heathgrass (Danthonia domingensis) and Agrostis hiemalis abounds.

The fauna of the valley is extremely meager due to the low temperature, wind, and poor vegetation. Only birds are seen during the day along with the introduced wild boar.