Haiti:
Geography

Click to enlarge

Pages for other countries and territories

Other pages in this profile of Haiti:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the departure of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006.

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 land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries	total: 360 km border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km
Coastline	1,771 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
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	arable land: 28.11% permanent crops: 11.53% other: 60.36% (2005)
Irrigated land	920 sq km (2003)
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)