Haiti is a country of only about 28,000 square kilometers, about the
size of the state of Maryland. It occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of
Hispaniola (La Isla Espa�ola); the Dominican Republic takes up the
eastern two-thirds. 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 Gon�ve.
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.
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. 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 Plateau Central (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 Plateau Central are the Montagnes Noires, with
elevations of up to approximately 600 meters. 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 Plaine
de l'Artibonite, measuring about 800 square kilometers. South of this
plain lie the Cha�ne 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 Plaine du Cul-de-Sac and the
mountainous southern peninsula. The Plaine du Cul-de-Sac is a natural
depression, twelve kilometers wide, that extends thirtytwo 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. The Massif de la Hotte varies in elevation from 1,270 to 2,255
meters.
The four islands of notable size in Haitian territory are Ile de la
Gon�ve, Ile de la Tortue (Tortuga Island), Grande Cayemite, and Ile �
Vache. Ile de la Gon�ve is sixty kilometers long and fifteen kilometers
wide. The hills that cross the island rise to heights of up to 760
meters. 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 � Vache is located south of the southern peninsula; Grande Cayemite
lies north of the southern peninsula.
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 Lib�n 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 P�ligre in the southern part of the Plateau
Central. The 400-kilometer Artibonite River is only one meter 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 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 Rivi�res, 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 Saum�tre, located at the eastern end of the Plaine du
Cul-de-Sac. 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.
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 15� C to 25� C in the winter and from 25� C to 35�
C during the summer.
