The country’s pronounced high rainfall during the wet season
contributes to its lush vegetation. The island’s topography is
rugged: it has steep, luxuriant rain-forest mountains; deep, riverincised
valleys; and tree-covered hills that produce and sustain
pristine rivers, perennial streams, and tumbling mountain waterfalls.
The country has great diversity of flora and fauna. Dominica’s
relatively undisturbed and rugged landscape, extensive forest,
and pristine fresh- and seawater ecology have made the
country a much-sought tourist destination for nature lovers and
environmental adventure seekers.Visitors mainly come from elsewhere
in the Caribbean, the United States of America, and Europe.
Arrivals increased by 54.2% between 1993 and 2004, reaching
80,087 in 2004. Cruise liners brought 383,614 passengers in 2004.
Dominica attained political independence from England in
1978, retaining a political organization based on the British Parliament,
multi-party democracy. The official language is English,
but most of the population speaks a patois “kweyol,” a blend of
African and French linguistic structures.
Dominica is subdivided into ten parishes—Saint Andrew,
Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke,
Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, and Saint Peter. The capital,
Roseau, is located in Saint George.