Geographical location

The second largest island in the Caribbean (76,480 km²) after Cuba (105,000 km²), Hispaniola is made up of the Republic of Haiti, covering 27,750 km², and the Dominican Republic, occupying 48,730 km². These two territories are administratively divided in two from North to South with nearly 386 km of border. Also, Haiti has approximately 1900 km of coastline. It is bordered to the North by the Atlantic Ocean from Môle Saint-Nicolas to Ouanaminthe (175 km), to the West and South by the Caribbean Sea from Les Irois to Anse-à-Pitre (290 km), and to the East by the Dominican Republic. In addition, Haiti is also surrounded by five satellite islands. Haiti is one of the Caribbean island territories with the richest biodiversity. It is home to the second most diverse flora in the Caribbean (after Cuba).

Haiti has six ecoregions that provide information on the diversity of its ecosystems: humid forest, dry forest, pine forest, mangroves, wetlands and marine ecoregion (GEO-Haiti, 2010). It also has 31 Key Biodiversity Areas covering an area of ​​9,340 km2 representing approximately one-third of the country’s land area (according to an assessment carried out by the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Funds (CEPF) et al 2011).

Geology and landscape

The name “Haiti” derives from a Native American word meaning “mountainous lands.” Haiti is also made up of two mountainous bands: one in the north and one in the south, separated by the Cul-de-Sac plain in the Ouest department. But the country is made up of five major mountain ranges:

Northern massif

A mountain range located in northern Haiti that rises partly over the Nord department and that of Artibonite, whose altitude varies between 600 and 1,210 meters above sea level. The Massif du Nord constitutes the western extension of the Cordillera Oriental with the Pic Duarte (3,175 m), the highest peak on the island of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic. In Haitian territory, the highest peaks of this massif are found at the meeting of the Marmelade, Pilate and Limbé mountains, which rise up to 1,200 m above sea level. The Massif du Nord extends towards the northwest of the country under the name of Haut-Piton chain, which extends over the Northern peninsula with an altitude of 1,183 m and ends opposite Tortue Island.

It is important to note that the Northern Massif is home to the Citadel La Ferrière (865 m) built by King Henri Christophe after the Haitian Revolution of 1804.

Black mountain range

A mountain range located in the central part of Haiti with an altitude varying between 600 and 1,793 meters. The Montagnes Noires massif is bordered to the north by the Artibonite plain in parallel with the Matheux range located on the southern part of said plain extending from the Caribbean Sea to Lake Péligre. Composed largely of limestone, the Montagnes Noires massif includes the Ennery range, the Cahos range and the Montagnes Noires range.

Matheux chains

With an average altitude of between 1,200 and 1,300 meters, the Matheux mountain range is located between the Artibonite plain and the Saint-Marc canal to the Cul-de-Sac plain and narrows with the Morne Saut-d’Eau. Stretching over approximately 75 km in length, the Matheux mountain range is a mountain located in the central part of Haiti whose highest point is the summit of Morne Baptiste rising to 1,575 meters above sea level and on which Fort Delpêche is located. On the height of the Matheux mountain range also rises the La Vigie volcano or Morne La Vigie. It culminates at 831 meters above sea level and occupies a depression of approximately 40 km in the heart of the Matheux mountain range, north of Cabaret and southwest of the town of Saut-d’Eau, an area known as Savane Michel and Grande Savane.

Hood massif

Located in the southwest of Haiti, the Hotte massif is covered with a large tropical forest called Macaya Park, named after the peak in the area, known as the second highest peak in Haiti at 2,347 meters above sea level. Classified as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO on March 18, 2016, the Hotte massif is known as the habitat of various species of terrestrial frogs in the Caribbean and occupies a total area of ​​435,193,540 ha for a population of approximately 855,000 inhabitants and spread over 30 communes in three departments :

• The Nippes involving municipalities such as : Baradères, Grand Boucan et Petit Trou-de-Nippes
• La Grand’Anse, represented by municipalities such as : Corail, Beaumont, Roseaux, Pestel, Jérémie, Abricots, Bonbon, Moron, Les Irois.
• The South, which has the largest share of the cake with: Aquin, Cavaillon, Saint Louis du Sud, Chardonnières, Tiburon, Les Anglais, Coteaux, Roche-à-Bateau, Port-à-Piment, Les Cayes, Camp Perrin, Maniche, Ile à Vache, Torbeck, Chantal, Port-Salut, Arniquet, Saint Jean du Sud.

The main peaks of the Hotte massif are: Pic de Macaya (2,347 m); Pic de Formon (2,219 m); Pic le Ciel (2,170 m); Pic Tête Ravine (around 1,900 m) and Morne Cavalier (around 1,550 m).

Saddle mass

Officially declared Haiti’s first biosphere reserve, after about eight years of advocacy by Haitian authorities with UNESCO, on February 20, 2013, “La Selle National Natural Park” is the largest pine reserve in the country with a predominance of the endemic species of pines (Pinus occidentalis) which would cover a total area of ​​377,221 hectares. The reserve then consists of 360,434 ha of dry land and 16,787 ha of sea. The Selle massif, located southeast of Port-au-Prince is the highest peak in Haiti with an altitude of 2,680 m.

The La Selle Biosphere Reserve is shared between the West and South-East departments, and currently includes 12 municipalities and 5 protected area cores: Trou Caïman, Lake Azuéi, the Forêt des Pins (Units 1 and 2) and the La Visite National Park known for its particular wealth in terms of biodiversity.

Flora of Haiti

The flora of Haiti has between 5,000 and 5,600 listed species of vascular plants, 36% of which are endemic to Hispaniola (the island that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic).

• 400 orchid species
• 330 species of compounds
• 600 fern species
• 3 species of conifers, including Pinus occidentalis

At the level of the satellite islands :

• Gonâve Island : with an area of ​​684 km², Gonâve Island has 938 listed plant species, including 17 endemic ones.
• Navase Island : Covering an area of ​​7 km², Navase Island is home to more than 800 plant species, including more than 250 new endemic ones.
• Turtle Island : Covering an area of ​​193 km², Turtle Island is home to 889 plant species, including 24 endemic species.

Fauna

Haiti’s fauna is home to more than 2,000 listed animal species, 75% of which are endemic.

Birds

With its 10 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) (e.g.: Massif de la Selle, Massif de la Hotte, Lake Azuéi, Trou Caïman, Caracol Mangrove, Three Bays National Park), the Republic of Haiti is home to more than 300 bird species, of which more than 73 are resident birds and 31 are endemic species.

Fishes

Of the 932 fish species recorded, most are marine, including one endemic species, the Coralbrotula Ogilbichthys haitiensis. Eight species are endemic to the Miragoâne Pond.

The ichthyofauna in Haiti’s inland water ecosystems includes 41 species of freshwater fish, including the native American eel (Aguilla rostrata). Eleven of these 41 species are endemic and all belong to the family Poecillidae and the order Cyprinodonttiformes.

Mammals

Three 3 species of mammals are listed in Haiti. These are:

• Plagiodontia aedium (Zagouti), also known as the Common Rat Cayes, is a rare and endangered mammal in the Capromyidae family. This species was first described in 1836 by French zoologist Frédéric Cuvier (1773-1838), brother of the famous naturalist Georges Cuvier.
• Solenodon paradoxus word (Long-nosed Shrew).
• The West Indian manatee, a marine mammal found in most of the Caribbean islands, including Haiti.

To which are added 17 species of bats.

Reptiles

There are 120 species of reptiles including 27 species of snakes, representing five different families (Typhlopsidae, Leptotyphlopidae, Tropidophidae, Chilabotrusidae, Dipsadidae), 5 marine turtles, 2 freshwater turtles, 2 species of land iguana, approximately 500 species of American crocodiles. It is important to emphasize that there are no venomous snakes in Haiti to date but rather snakes without venom toxic to humans, less aggressive and more docile than vipers which are always ready to attack.

Haiti is home to several species of blind snakes (Typhlops sp.). There are 10 species endemic to Haiti. Boas, commonly called “sleeping snakes” (Koulèv Landòmi), are represented in Haiti by 3 species of the genus Chilabotrus: Epicrates fordi, Epicrates gracilis, and Epicrates striatus. There are eleven species of snakes commonly called “Madeleines” in Haiti. They are classified in the Dipsadidae family. Scientists consider these snakes to be harmless, although they have small fangs and venom. There are the green or brown “madeleines” (tree snakes of the genus Uromacer) and the swift snakes or “racers” in English (genera Hypsirhynchus, Laltris, and Haitiophis). All species of madeleine snakes are endemic to the island of Haiti (Viviane Julien, Ing-Agr. specialist in ERE at REPIE).

Amphibians

Haiti has approximately 58 species of amphibians, 49 of which are threatened with extinction: 58 species of terrestrial frogs, including Eleutherodactylus on the island of Hispaniola. Of these 58 species, 30 are found nowhere else.