city, northwestern Dominican Republic, in the coastal lowlands near the mouth of the Yaque del Norte River. Founded in 1506, Monte Cristi was destroyed in 1606 for trading illegally with pirates; it was not reconstructed until 1756. It is now an important commercial and transportation centre, trading mainly in the rice, cotton, coffee, bananas, and goats from the western portion of the fertile Cibao Valley. Hides and skins constitute the principal exports handled at the adjacent harbour. Monte Cristi is the terminus of a paved highway from Santo Domingo and has an airfield. Pop. (2002) urban area, 15,629.