The DR is a small island, covering only 48,000 square kilometers (compared to the United States' 9,800,00 square kilometers), but it still has diverse and varying climates.
The Dominican Republic has abundant native crops that allow many people to live off the land. The most prominent crops that the DR cultivates are bananas, sugarcane, coffee, mangos, coconuts, avocados, rice and many more. Its fertile land allows these crops to thrive and serve as sources of food and income for many Dominicans.
The intense weather conditions create many challenges for people living in the DR. First, the heat during the dry, summer months is brutal, sometimes making it impossible for people to do anything but find ways to cool off. This means that many people who work outside, like farmers, need to do a lot of their work before the sun gets too hot, otherwise it would be very difficult to endure the heat. The rain also poses challenges, as it causes a lot of rock and mudslides that either wipe out roads or block them. Communities at lower altitudes also experience flooding that can do significant damage.
