Haiti

Flag Proportion: 2:3

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Language: French

Currency: Gourde

Continent: North America

Independent republic of the West Indies, occupying the western third of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Dominican Republic, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the Windward Passage, which separates it from Cuba. Its area is 27,750 sq km (10,714 sq mi). Port-au-Prince is Haiti?s capital and largest city.

Haiti consists of two peninsulas, which are separated by the Gone Gulf. Much of Haiti's land is mountainous. In all, five mountain ranges cross the country. The Chae du Haut Piton, which runs along the northern peninsula, reaches a height of 1183 m (3881 ft). The Massif de la Selle, which begins just southeast of Port-au-Prince, reaches a height of 2674 m (8773 ft) at Pic la Selle, the highest point in Haiti. The Massif de la Hotte reaches a height of 2347 m (7700 ft) at the extreme western end of the southern peninsula. The other chains, which include the Massif des Montagnes Noires and Chae des Cahos, and the solitary peak of Montagne Terrible, range between 1128 and 1580 m (3701 and 5184 ft) high.

The Gone Gulf contains the largest of Haiti?s offshore islands, the island of Gone. The other islands include ?e de la Tortue (Tortuga) and Grande Cayemite. Haiti?s shoreline is irregular and there are many natural harbors. The numerous rivers' most of which are short, swift, and unnavigable have their sources in the mountains. Only the Artibonite River, the country's largest, is navigable for any length. Haiti's inland areas include three productive agricultural regions, the Plaine du Nord, the Artibonite River valley and the Cul-de-Sac Plain. Saumre Lake, a saltwater lake in the Cul-de-Sac, is the nation's largest lake, while Pigre Lake, formed by a dam on the upper Artibonite River, is the largest freshwater lake.

Haiti has a tropical climate. The distribution of mountains and lowlands affects temperature and rainfall, causing significant climate variations from place to place. Rainfall varies from a high of 3600 mm (144 in) on the western tip of the southern peninsula, to 600 mm (24 in) on the southwest coast of the northern peninsula. Most of the rain in the southwest falls in early and late summer. Port-au-Prince, located at sea level, has a yearly average temperature of 27 C (80 F). In Kenscoff, located just south of Port-au-Prince at an elevation of 1432 m (4700 ft), temperatures average 16 C (60 F). The mountains surrounding the cul-de-sac trap air in the valley, making the air hot, dry, and stagnant. Vulnerable to hurricanes, Haiti has been struck by destructive storms in 1963, 1980, 1988, and 1994.

Clearing forests for farms and wood for charcoal has stripped Haiti of most of its valuable native trees. Only some pine forests at high elevations and mangroves in inaccessible swamps remain. Semidesert scrub covers the ground in drier zones. Environmental deterioration has had a severe impact on Haiti's plants, animals, soil, and water resources. Tropical reefs surrounding the country are threatened by the large quantities of silt washed down from the eroding mountainsides. Coffee and cacao trees spread across the mountains in scattered clumps, while sugarcane, sisal, cotton, and rice cover most of the good farmland. Most of Haiti's native animals were hunted to extinction long ago. Caiman and flamingo are the most common wildlife seen today. Haiti's large population and the degree of deforestation already present seem to preclude the reestablishment of wildlife, although the climate would be hospitable to any tropical plants or animals.

Only 20 percent of Haiti is considered arable, due to years of poor farming techniques. Bauxite was Haiti's most valuable mineral but extraction has ceased to be profitable in recent years. Small quantities of copper, salt, and gold exist but are not considered commercially viable.

About 95 percent of Haitians are of African origin. The remaining 5 percent are mulatto and other races. The mulatto population makes up about half of the country's elite. French and Creole, which uses both French colonial and West African phrases and words, are the official languages, the latter attaining that status in 1987. The poorer class (about 90 percent of the population) speak Creole, while the elite speak modern French. About 80 percent of Haiti's people are nominal Roman Catholics, many of them combining an African animism called voodoo into their religious beliefs and ceremonies. Other religious groups include Baptists (about 10 percent), Pentecostals (4 percent), and Adventists (about 1 percent). The Protestant faiths do not allow voodoo practices.

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