The Far West is a subregion of Haiti, located in the western extremity of the Northwest Department.
Long neglected by the Haitian government and the international community, Most Haitians have never been here and comparatively little has been written about the region.
Neighboring regions[]
Île de la Tortue |
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| West Cap-à-Foux |
East Upper Northwest | |
|---|---|---|
Northern Transition Zone |
The Northwest Peninsula[]
The Northwest Peninsula is a mountainous region resembling in many features the Massif du Nord, from which it is severed by the deep trough here called the Trois Rivières Valley. The name as used here denotes the entire region west of this trough. The length of the peninsula from east to west is about 75 kilometers (45 miles), and its average width is 35 kilometers (20 miles). Several mountain ranges constitute the axis of the peninsula. In the southeastern part of the peninsula the ranges trend about N. 50• W. and attain altitudes slightly more than 1,000 meters (3,280 ft.) above sea level in the communes of Terre-Neuve and Gros-Morne. In the main body of the peninsula the ranges trend approximately east and west and attain altitudes less than 700 meters (2,300 ft.) above sea level. These ranges stand about halfway between the north and the south coast and are bordered on the north and south by lowlands that are only 200 or 300 meters (650 or 1,000 ft.) above sea level. The west end of the peninsula is a broad plateau with terraced seaward borders that has a maximum altitude of 450 meters (1,500 ft.) above sea level. The diversity of surface features is partly due to the diversity of surface rocks. Virtually all the mountain ranges contain a basement of igneous rocks covered by a great thickness of limestone. Soft marls and sandstones extend around the mountains and overlap the rocks that compose them. These detrital rocks are the surface rocks in the lowlands north and south of the central ranges. Coralliferous limestone of Quaternary age veneers the plateau and terraces at the western end of the peninsula.
Land Features[]
Subprovinces[]
Although the geographic isolation of the Northwest Peninsula permits its separation as a distinct geographic province, the surface features of different parts of the peninsula are so different that it is divided into six subprovinces--Trois Rivieres Valley, Montagnes de Terre-Neuve, Montagnes du Nord-ouest, Bombardopolis Plateau, Arbre Plain, and Jean Rabel Valley.
Arbre Plain[]
This area is formed from the western slope of the Terre Neuve massif, extended by the plains of the Tree and the Colombier to the coast which stretches from Anse Rouge to Gonaïves. The whole is drained mainly by the rivers of Anse Rouge, Colombier, and Bouvard. Up to a line passing through Gonaïves / Terre-Neuve, this area receives an average of 800 mm (32. in) of rain per year while the Arbre plain records an average of less than 500 mm (20 in.). In general, drought is rife there and gives rise to poor flow which runs dry for a period of 6 to 8 months.
About[]
An artist speaking on one of the communities, Baie-de-Henne, vividly paints a dry picture of life in the deserted desert region;
Baie-de-Henne: the descent into hell 2 August 2007
Another world is what we see from the outset when we approach the road to Baie-de-Henne. The arrogant and insulting morons in their absolute nakedness announce the color bluntly, without the blow of handlebars. Hell is good here, even if there is no sign. The earth does not bleed anymore. She will not bleed anymore, she is emptied. If there are still peanut shoots in bare spaces, the trees are gone. Even cactus and bayawonn are endangered. It is obvious that God does not pass over there. He has thrown in the towel and misery reigns supreme.
When we find a tree, we must quickly take advantage of its shadow ... the next can be very far away.
There is nothing in Baie-de-Henne! Nothing, absolutely nothing to defend, except the men and women who do not want or can not go away. They chose to die quietly at home. A form of collective suicide as Willot R. Joseph, one of the leaders of Ayiti Gouvenans, the organization that invited us to visit the Lower North West region, because it is difficult to understand that we can survive in a place so arid, so macabre.
The faces are pale, people walk in slow motion. They do not even want to complain anymore. What's the point? It's been so long since we've forgotten them. Moreover, why would they tell what everyone can see at a glance?
Misery, here, has earned its nobility. It is worn with dignity and resignation. Houses crumbling, in ruins, say that it has been a long time, too long. We no longer speak of Port-au-Prince or Port-de-Paix. Baie-de-Henne is a world apart that lives on its own, a world that tries to forget that it exists and that it is part of a country.
Here, we live without water, without electricity, without health care, with no other resource than the charcoal that trucks pick up every three or four days. Trucks that bring life and yet only prolong the agony of a moribund and desperate population.
References[]
"Baie-de-Henne: The descent into hell" [1]