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Haiti: Haiti Geography Profile 2012

2012/03/13

Haiti Geography Profile 2012

Mountains cover two-thirds of Haiti, which is an Indian word meaning “mountain country.” Several ranges, separated by broad, fertile valleys, stretch from east to west. La Selle in the southeast is the highest peak, 8,773 feet (2,674 m) above sea level. There are plains along much of the coast. Haiti's only important river, the Artibonite, flows from its source in the Dominican Republic to the Gulf of Gonâve.

Haiti's climate is hot in the plains and cooler in the mountains. The mean annual temperature at Port-au-Prince, the capital, is 81° F. (27° C.), one of the highest in the West Indies. Rainfall varies widely according to region.

Location:

Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates:

19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area

Total:

27,750 sq km

Comparison to the world:

147

Land:

27,560 sq km

Water:

190 sq km

Area comparative:

slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries Total:

360 km

Land boundaries Note:

Border countries

Countries:

Dominican Republic 360 km

Coastline

Value:

1771km

Note:

Maritime claims

Territorial sea:

12nm

Exclusive economic zone:

200nm

Climate:

tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Terrain:

mostly rough and mountainous

Elevation extremes

Lowest point:

Caribbean Sea 0 m

Highest point:

Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

Natural resources:

bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower

Land use

Kind:

arable land

Percentage:

28,11%

Year:

2005

Kind:

permanent crops

Percentage:

11,53%

Kind:

other

Percentage:

60,36%

Irrigated land

Value:

920 sq km

Year:

2003

Total renewable water resources

Value:

14 cu km

Year:

2000

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

Total:

0.99 cu km/yr (5%/1%/94%)

Per capital:

116 cu m/yr

Natural hazards:

lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:

extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements

Party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection

Signed but not ratified:

Hazardous Wastes

Geography note:

shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

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