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HAITI EARTH
Haiti map

Map of Haiti.

"In hospitality, the Haitien cannot be surpassed; everything he has is yours and if anything is lacking, he will borrow it for your comfort. I saw this spirit manifested wherever we went and never saw it equalled in any country I have so far ever visited."

"A trip through the interior of Haiti"
-by E.G.W. Ferguson

About[]

The nation of Haiti comprises the western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, west of the Dominican Republic and between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Haiti's geographic coordinates: Longitude of 72° 25′ west and a latitude of 19° 00′ north.[]

Geography[]

Haiti is a country of only about 28,000 square kilometers, about the size of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Shaped like a horseshoe on its side, Haiti has two main peninsulas, one in the north and one in the south. Between the peninsulas is the Ile de la Gonâve.

Northwest of the northern peninsula is the Windward Passage, a strip of water that separates Haiti from Cuba, which is about ninety kilometers away. The eastern edge of the country borders the Dominican Republic. A series of treaties and protocols--the most recent of which was the Protocol of Revision of 1936--set the 388-kilometer eastern border, which is formed partly by the Pedernales River in the south and the Massacre River in the north.

Tourism-development-projects-haitis-caribbean-coast-2-638

Map of Haiti's three coasts

Regions

The mainland of Haiti has three regions: the northern region, which includes the northern peninsula; the central region; and the southern region, which includes the southern peninsula. In addition, Haiti controls several nearby islands.

The northern region consists of the Massif du Nord (Northern Massif) and the Plaine du Nord (Northern Plain). The Massif du Nord, an extension of the central mountain range in the Dominican Republic, begins at Haiti's eastern border, north of the Guayamouc River, and extends to the northwest through the northern peninsula. The Massif du Nord ranges in elevation from 600 to 1,100 meters (1,800 to 3,300 feet). The Plaine du Nord lies along the northern border with the Dominican Republic, between the Massif du Nord and the North Atlantic Ocean. This lowland area of 2,000 square kilometers is about 150 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide.

The central region consists of two plains and two sets of mountain ranges. The Central Plateau extends along both sides of the Guayamouc River, south of the Massif du Nord. It runs eighty-five kilometers from southeast to northwest and is thirty kilometers wide. To the southwest of the Central Plateau are the Montagnes Noires, with elevations of up to approximately 600 meters (1,800 feet). The most northwestern part of this mountain range merges with the Massif du Nord. Southwest of the Montagnes Noires and oriented around the Artibonite River is the Artibonite Plain, measuring about 800 square kilometers. South of this plain lie the Chaîne des Matheux and the Montagnes du Trou d'Eau, which are an extension of the Sierra de Neiba range of the Dominican Republic.

The southern region consists of the Cul-de-Sac Plain and the mountainous Tiburon Peninsula. The Cul-de-Sac Plain is a natural depression, twelve kilometers wide, that extends thirty two kilometers from the border with the Dominican Republic to the coast of the Baie de Port-au-Prince. The mountains of the southern peninsula, an extension of the southern mountain chain of the Dominican Republic (the Sierra de Baoruco), extend from the Massif de la Selle in the east to the Massif de la Hotte in the west. The range's highest peak, the Morne de la Selle, is the highest point in Haiti, rising to an altitude of 2,715 meters (8,907 feet OR 1.7 miles). The Massif de la Hotte varies in elevation from 1,270 to 2,255 meters.

IMG 0009-6b21e

The four islands of notable size in Haitian territory are Ile de la Gonâve, Ile de la Tortue (Tortuga Island), Grande Cayemite, and Île-à-Vache. Ile de la Gonâve is sixty kilometers long and fifteen kilometers wide. The hills that cross the island rise to heights of up to 760 meters (2,180 feet). Ile de la Tortue is located north of the northern peninsula, separated from the city of Port-de-Paix by a twelve-kilometer channel. Ile à Vache is located south of the southern peninsula; Grande Cayemite lies north of the southern peninsula.

Cities of Haiti[]

Cities and towns of Haiti[]

Main article: Cities and towns of Haiti. For Cities and towns of the Dominican Republic, click here.

Haiti towns

Like Port-au-Prince, all the other major urban centers are located on the coast, reflecting their origins as ports during the colonial era. The French founded the northern city of Cap-Haïtien, once known as Cap-Français, in 1670. This coastal settlement quickly prospered, and during the 18th century enjoyed a golden period, serving as the port and commercial center for the immensely productive plantations of the Plaine-du-Nord. From the time of the Haitian revolution, however, what was said to be the most attractive city outside France entered into a steady decline. In 1802, Henri Christophe, leader of the revolutionary black army in the north, burned the city down rather than let it fall into the hands of the approaching French forces. Although rebuilt and renamed, first Cap-Henri and then Cap-Haïtien, the city never recaptured its former glory. An earthquake in 1842 and then a hurricane in 1928 inflicted new destruction, and hastened city's demise. Today, though it is still the most important urban center in the north, with a population of about 300,000, Cap-Haïtien is a rather quiet and relaxed town.

Historically, the business activity in the regional centers did operate autonomously. There is a great amount of anecdotal evidence of previous business activity linking the secondary cities with rural areas, to serve domestic and international markets. Cities outsIde of Port-au-Prince were focal points of entrepreneurshIp and local governance, and possessed an entrepreneunal and intellectual population that contained strong cosmopolitan elements. Much of this activity and resource base collapsed or was drawn in to Port-au-Prince as services and policies became centralized, and as the infrastructure outside of Port-au-Prince crumbled. Planning efforts, such as the Transport Master Plan, encouraged thIs centralization. The construction of the flour mIll at Port-au-Prince, and the consequent requirement to purchase flour mIlled in Port-au-Prince, reportedly caused significant damage to the economy of the Les Cayes region.

Other port towns enjoyed something a boom time in the 19th century as those with assets and capital congregated there, and grew rich from the control of agricultural exports. This trade generated great incomes for the new urban elite, and Jérémie prospered from exporting cocoa, Jacmel from coffee, Gonaïves and Saint-Marc from cotton, and Port-de-Paix from logwood. The fortunes of these once bustling and thriving port towns, however, declined in the 20th century as a consequence of the vagaries of international demand for the products they exported. When Francois Duvalier made Port-au-Prince the only official port, they entered an economic and social torpor that exists to this day. Over recent decades, only the regional administrative and Commercial centers of Les Cayes in the south, Gonaïves in the center and Cap-Haïtien in the north have seen any significant growth in population size.

List[]

Communes Department Arrondissement Population (2015)
Abricots Grand'Anse Jérémie 37,675
Acul-du-Nord Nord Acul-du-Nord 55,908
Anse-à-Foleur Nord-Ouest Saint-Louis-du-Nord 30,217
Anse-à-Galets Ouest La Gonâve 56,890
Anse-à-Veau Nippes Anse-à-Veau 34,613
Anse-à-Pitres Sud-Est Belle-Anse 27,415
Anse-d'Hainault Grand'Anse Anse d'Hainault 36,401
Anse-Rouge Artibonite Gros-Morne 39,463
Aquin Sud Aquin 94,773
Arcahaie Ouest Arcahaie 130,306
Arnaud Nippes Anse-à-Veau 20,718
Arniquet Sud Port-Salut 26,536
Bahon Nord Grande-Rivière-du-Nord 23,251
Baie-de-Henne Nord-Ouest Môle Saint-Nicolas 17,217
Bainet Sud-Est Bainet 78,896
Baradères Nippes Baradères 47,060
Bas-Limbé Nord Limbé 19,006
Bassin-Bleu Nord-Ouest Port-de-Paix 33,296
Beaumont Grand'Anse Corail 31,580
Belladère Centre Las Cahobas 78,765
Belle-Anse Sud-Est Belle-Anse 69,071
Bombardopolis Nord-Ouest Môle Saint-Nicolas 32,764
Bonbon Grand'Anse Jérémie 8,610
Borgne Nord Borgne 66,921
Boucan-Carré Centre Mirebalais 50,952
Cabaret Ouest Arcahaie 62,063
Camp-Perrin Sud Les Cayes 40,962
Cap-Haïtien Nord Cap-Haïtien 274,404
Capotille Nord-Est Ouanaminthe 17,626
Caracol Nord-Est Trou-du-Nord 7,714
Carrefour Ouest Port-au-Prince 511,345
Carice Nord-Est Vallières 12,382
Cavaillon Sud Aquin 44,276
Cayes-Jacmel Sud-Est Jacmel 36,693
Cerca-Carvajal Centre Hinche 21,147
Cerca-la-Source Centre Cerca-la-Source 51,410
Chambellan Grand'Anse Jérémie 24,062
Chansolme Nord-Ouest Port-de-Paix 27,611
Chantal Sud Les Cayes 31,030
Chardonnières Sud Chardonnières 22,953
Cité Soleil Ouest Port-au-Prince 265,072
Corail Grand'Anse Corail 17,793
Cornillon Ouest Croix-des-Bouquets 54,254
Côteaux Sud Côteaux 19,372
Côtes-de-Fer Sud-Est Bainet 44,595
Croix-des-Bouquets Ouest Croix-des-Bouquets 249,628
Dame-Marie Grand'Anse Anse d'Hainault 35,237
Delmas Ouest Port-au-Prince 395,260
Desdunes Artibonite Dessalines 33,672
Dessalines Artibonite Dessalines 181,903
Dondon Nord Saint-Raphaël 31,469
Ennery Artibonite Gonaïves 46,581
Ferrier Nord-Est Fort-Liberté 13,315
Fond-des-Blancs Sud Aquin 8,000
Fonds-des-Nègres Nippes Miragoâne 30,387
Fonds-Verrettes Ouest Croix-des-Bouquets 45,491
Fort-Liberté Nord-Est Fort-Liberté 31,315
Ganthier Ouest Croix-des-Bouquets 62,534
Gonaïves Artibonite Gonaïves 356,324
Grand-Boucan Nippes Baradères 5,815
Grand-Goâve Ouest Léogâne 136,502
Grand-Gosier Sud-Est Belle-Anse 15,513
Grande-Rivière-du-Nord Nord Grande-Rivière-du-Nord 37,614
Grande-Saline Artibonite Dessalines 21,131
Gressier Ouest Port-au-Prince 33,152
Gros-Morne Artibonite Gros-Morne 23,236
Hinche Centre Hinche 120,867
Île-à-Vache Sud Les Cayes 14,004
Île de la Tortue Nord-Ouest Port-de-Paix 35,347
Jacmel Sud-Est Jacmel 170,289
Jean-Rabel Nord-Ouest Môle Saint-Nicolas 148,416
Jérémie Grand'Anse Jérémie 134,317
Kenscoff Ouest Port-au-Prince 52,232
Las Cahobas Centre Las Cahobas 41,716
L'Asile Nippes Anse-à-Veau 37,352
L'Estère Artibonite Gonaïves 41,068
La Chapelle Artibonite Saint-Marc 28,695
La Pointe Nord-Ouest Port-de-Paix 9,930
La Vallée-de-Jacmel Sud-Est Jacmel 33,127
La Victoire Nord Saint-Raphaël 10,541
Léogâne Ouest Léogâne 199,813
Les Anglais Sud Chardonnières 27,182
Les Cayes Sud Les Cayes 151,696
Les Irois Grand'Anse Anse-d'Hainault 21,257
Limbé Nord Limbé 85,302
Limonade Nord Cap-Haïtien 55,145
Maïssade Centre Hinche 53,602
Maniche Sud Les Cayes 21,766
Marigot Sud-Est Jacmel 67,933
Marmelade Artibonite Marmelade 34,609
Milot Nord Acul-du-Nord 31,992
Miragoâne Nippes Miragoâne 56,864
Mirebalais Centre Mirebalais 88,899
Mombin-Crochu Nord-Est Vallières 34,700
Mont-Organisé Nord-Est Ouanaminthe 19,073
Môle Saint-Nicolas Nord-Ouest Môle Saint-Nicolas 30,795
Moron Grand'Anse Jérémie 28,335
Ouanaminthe Nord-Est Ouanaminthe 96,515
Paillant Nippes Miragoâne 15,762
Perches Nord-Est Fort-Liberté 10,509
Pestel Grand'Anse Corail 40,613
Petite-Rivière-de-Nippes Nippes Miragoâne 25,966
Petit-Trou-de-Nippes Nippes Anse-à-Veau 27,273
Pétion-Ville Ouest Port-au-Prince 376,834
Petit-Goâve Ouest Léogâne 172,965
Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite Artibonite Dessalines 170,740
Pignon Nord Saint-Raphaël 43,263
Pilate Nord Plaisance 54,040
Plaine-du-Nord Nord Acul-du-Nord 37,518
Plaisance Nord Plaisance 63,278
Plaisance-du-Sud Nippes Anse-à-Veau 24,777
Pointe-à-Raquette Ouest La Gonâve 22,298
Port-Margot Nord Borgne 49,879
Port-à-Piment Sud Côteaux 17,207
Port-au-Prince Ouest Port-au-Prince 987,310
Port-de-Paix Nord-Ouest Port-de-Paix 194,045
Port-Salut Sud Port-Salut 17,368
Quartier-Morin Nord Cap-Haïtien 27,359
Ranquitte Nord Saint-Raphaël 27,704
Roche-à-Bateaux Sud Côteaux 16,727
Roseaux Grand'Anse Jérémie 32,517
Saint-Jean-du-Sud Sud Port-Salut 23,251
Saint-Louis-du-Nord Nord-Ouest Saint-Louis-du-Nord 105,808
Saint-Louis-du-Sud Sud Aquin 59,042
Saint-Marc Artibonite Saint-Marc 266,642
Saint-Michel-de-l'Atalaye Artibonite Marmelade 150,511
Saint-Raphaël Nord Saint-Raphaël 53,755
Sainte-Suzanne Nord-Est Trou-du-Nord 25,492
Saut-d'Eau Centre Mirebalais 35,529
Savanette Centre Las Cahobas 32,920
Tabarre Ouest Port-au-Prince 118,477
Terre-Neuve Artibonite Gros-Morne 28,421
Terrier-Rouge Nord-Est Trou-du-Nord 27,577
Thiotte Sud-Est Belle-Anse 31,761
Thomassique Centre Cerca-la-Source 57,496
Thomonde Centre Hinche 56,274
Thomazeau Ouest Croix-des-Bouquets 48,163
Torbeck Sud Les Cayes 69,189
Trou-du-Nord Nord-Est Trou-du-Nord 44,498
Vallières Nord-Est Vallières 21,404
Verrettes Artibonite Saint-Marc 131,693

Territorial organization[]

Main article: Territorial divisions of Haiti

Several structuring aspects of the territorial organization were determined by the Constitution which established the territorial divisions of the country. It is up to the law to determine the number and boundaries of territorial divisions. In the Haitian context, the practice of territorial division is of very ancient and dates back to the Indian period, during which time the island was shared in caciquats or kingdoms to eventually lead, among other things, to cutting current, ie a division of the national territory in the Department, Arrondissement, Communes, Quarters and Rural Sections, (law of September 1976) and Regions (law of September 1982).

Roads[]

Main article: Transportation in Haiti, Haiti road network

Hti503

Haiti is not a large country to travel around, and has a road network of variable (although improving) quality, and a few internal flights from Port-au-Prince.
Port-au-Prince sits squarely in the center of the national highway system, and the fact that all roads lead to the capital makes it either a convenient base to travel from, or an unavoidable annoyance if you'd prefer to avoid getting sucked into its traffic gridlock.
From Port-au-Prince, RN-1 heads north to Gonaïves and then over the mountains to Cap-Haïtien. At Gonaïves, the road splits to lead to Port-de-Paix along RN-5. East of the capital, RN-3 passes through Mirebalais and Hinche, and continues on to Le Cap. In the south, RN-2 passes through Léogâne and Miragoâne on the way to Les Cayes and Port-Salut. Side branches split off toward Jacmel (RN-4) and Jérémie (RN-7). For the most part, these roads are well-paved. Notable exceptions include the terribly pot-holed road from Gonaives to Port-de-Paix, and the unsealed stretches from Hinche to Cap-Haïtien.

Route Province(s) Major Cities Length (km)
Route Nationale 1
Rn1 mICHAEL vEDRINE
Ouest
Artibonite
Nord
Port-au-Prince
Saint-Marc
Gonaïves
Cap-Haïtien
243
Route Nationale 2
RN2 Michael Vedrine 610
Sud
Nippes
Ouest
Les Cayes
Aquin
Léogâne
Carrefour
Port-au-Prince
186
Route Nationale 3
RN3 Michael Vedrine 610
Ouest
Artibonite
Nord
Port-au-Prince
Mirebalais
Hinche
Cap-Haïtien
191
Route Nationale 4
RN4 Michael Vedrine 610
Ouest
Sud-Est
Léogâne
Jacmel
44
Route Nationale 5
RN5 Michael Vedrine 610
Artibonite
Nord-Ouest
Gonaïves
Port-de-Paix
77
Route Nationale 6
RN6 Michael Vedrine 610
Nord
Nord-Est
Cap-Haïtien
Trou-du-Nord
Ouanaminthe
66
Route Nationale 6A
6a
Nord Trou-du-Nord 11
Route Nationale 7
RN7 Michael Vedrine 610a
Sud
Grand'Anse
Les Cayes
Jérémie
95
Route Nationale 8
RN8 Michael Vedrine 610
Ouest Port-au-Prince
Malpasse (Fond-Parisien)
Border crossing
48

Click here for list of numbered local routes

NGO Aid Maps[]

Southern Department



Hydrology[]

Main article: Haiti Hydro

Hta1

Numerous rivers and streams, which slow to a trickle during the dry season and which carry torrential flows during the wet season, cross Haiti's plains and mountainous areas. The largest drainage system in the country is that of the Artibonite River. Rising as the Libón River in the foothills of the Massif du Nord, the river crosses the border into the Dominican Republic and then forms part of the border before reentering Haiti as the Artibonite River. At the border, the river expands to form the Lac de Péligre in the southern part of the Central Plateau. The 400-kilometer Artibonite River is only one meter (3 feet) deep during the dry season, and it may even dry up completely in certain spots. During the wet season, it is more than three meters (9 feet) deep and subject to flooding.

The ninety-five-kilometer Guayamouc River is one of the principal tributaries of the Artibonite River. The most important river in the northern region is Les Trois Rivières, or The Three Rivers. It is 150 kilometers long, has an average width of sixty meters, and is three to four meters deep.

The most prominent body of water in the southern region is the salt-water Etang Saumâtre, located at the eastern end of the Cul-de-Sac Plain. At an elevation of sixteen meters above sea level, the lake is twenty kilometers long and six to fourteen kilometers wide; it has a circumference of eighty-eight kilometers.

List of Rivers in Haiti[]

This is a list of rivers of Haiti, arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. Some are longer than others.

Drainage Basin (Coast) Name of river
Atlantic Ocean Dajabón River (Massacre River)

Grande Rivière du Nord

Rivière du Limbè

Les Trois Rivières

Gulf of Gonâve Rivière la Quinte

Rivière l'Estère

Artibonite River

Rivière de Bayonnais

Rivière de Fer-à-Cheval

Macasía River

Rivière Guayamoc

Rivière Bouyaha

Rivière Canot

Rivière Lociane

Libón River

Rivière de Saint-Marc

Rivière Montrouis

Rivière Blanche (Artibonite)

Rivière Blanche (Ouest)

Rivière Grise (Grande Riviere du Cul de Sac)

Momance River

Rivière de Grand Goâve

Grande Rivière de Nippes

Grande-Anse River

Caribbean Sea Rivière de l'Acul

Ravine du Sud

Rivière de Cavaillon

Rivière des Côtes de Fer

Rivière de Bainet

Grande Rivière de Jacmel

Petite Rivière de Jacmel

Pedernales River


Climate[]

Haiti has a generally hot and humid tropical climate. The north wind brings fog and drizzle, which interrupt Haiti's dry season from November to January. But during February through May, the weather is very wet. Northeast trade winds bring rains during the wet season.

The average annual rainfall is 140 to 200 centimeters, but it is unevenly distributed. Heavier rainfall occurs in the southern peninsula and in the northern plains and mountains. Rainfall decreases from east to west across the northern peninsula. The eastern central region receives a moderate amount of precipitation, while the western coast from the northern peninsula to Port-au-Prince, the capital, is relatively dry. Temperatures are almost always high in the lowland areas, ranging from 59° F to 77° F (15° C to 25°) C in the winter and from 77° F to 95° F (25° C to 35° C) during the summer.


Petit-Riviere-de-Bayonnais, Gonaives has 55 localities.

201212-map-am-haiti-en

References and sources[]

External link to G expert statistics page [1]

External link to IHSI statistics page [2]

Communal references page [3]

Conseil Économique et Social [4]

[5]

Rivers of Haiti [6]

[7]

Ministry of Public Health and Population [8]

Maps

[9]

Roads [10]

Port-Salut [11]

Action plan against desertification [12]

Dictionnaire geographique et historique [13]

Historical and Economic Geography of the Southwest Peninsula of Haiti [14]

Historical Dictionary of Haiti [15]

Hispaniola waterways [16]

More waterways [17]

Location maps [18]

Descriptions - Jeune Haiti [19]

Maps of Grand'Anse [20]

Health map (Artibonite) [21]

Paul Clammer Guide to Haiti [22]

[23]

Michael Vedrine is the most beautiful driver on the face of the earth.

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