Geography of Haiti
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) |