The Geology of Haiti: An Annotated Bibliography of Haiti's Geology

256 Pages·2010·1.01 MB·English

The Geology of Haiti: An Annotated Bibliography of Haiti’s
Geology, Geography and Earth Science.

By Robert Lee Hadden and Steven G. Minson

Army Geospatial Center July 2010
US Army Corps of Engineers
ATTN: CEAGS-WSG
7701 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22315

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Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science

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The Geology of Haiti: An Annotated Bibliography of Haiti’s
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14. ABSTRACT
A bibliography on Haiti prepared by the Army Geospatial Center (AGC) to assist with
humanitarian efforts offered by the US Government and the Corps of Engineers after the
devastating earthquake hit Haiti on January, 2010. As such, this bibliography covers items of
interest to disaster engineers and emergency planners, including citations on geology and
geography, topography, transportation, water, medical concerns, and security.
15. SUBJECT TERMS
Earth Sciences. Forests. Geology. Geography. Groundwater. Haiti. Hydrology. Maps.
Meteorology. Mining. Soils. Surface-water. Trafficability. Transportation. Water.
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Unclassified / Unlimited OF ABSTRACT OF PAGES R. Lee Hadden
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Army Geospatial Center June 2010 2
The Geology of Haiti:
An Annotated Bibliography of Haiti’s
Geology, Geography and Earth Science
By
Robert Lee Hadden and Steven G. Minson
Army Geospatial Center
7701 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, VA 22315
September 2008
[email protected]

Preface
This bibliography was produced quickly by the Army Geospatial Center (See:
http://www.agc.army.mil/Haiti/index.html) in response to the humanitarian crisis caused
by the massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake which struck Haiti in January 2010 with an
epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 2 million
people live within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The earthquake is
assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years.
In support of national response efforts led by the U.S. State Department, the U.S.
Agency for International Development, and U.S. Southern Command, and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers has deployed an initial team of four engineers in response to the
earthquake in Haiti. The team includes subject matter experts in civil, structural,
electrical, and hydrological engineering. Two additional eight-person Forward Engineer
Support Teams from USACE’s South Atlantic Division and two platoons of the 249th
Engineer Battalion, approximately 40 Soldiers, were placed on alert and ready to deploy.
The 249th Engineer Battalion, known as the “Army’s Power Company,” supplies
commercial grade power-related technical services to installations and disaster-relief
operations. USACE’s South Atlantic Division has identified and is preparing additional
structural engineers for deployment if called upon.
In support of this effort, the US Army Corps of
Engineers’ Army Geospatial Center (AGC) has
scanned a number of geological and hydrological maps
of Haiti to assist the disaster planners on this mission.
This data is used to select locations for supply dumps,
emergency hospital locations, sanitation and clean
water supplies. Other data on trafficability,
transportation and terrain helped with the airlifting of
Figure 1 U.S. Engineers, Haitians supplies, evacuating the injured, and the prevention of
Remove Debris in Turgeau. April 2, bottlenecks in air, land and water traffic.
2010. By Chief Mass Communication The AGC web page has also helped civilian
Specialist James G. Pinsky,
relief agencies in their efforts. The data are available
NAVFAC Public Affairs. See:
around the world, and the US government, the United
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/pdf/success/c
leanup.pdf Nations and a number of non-governmental
organizations have made use of this data in their humanitarian relief efforts.
Some copyrighted and sensitive materials have been placed behind the PKI site,
and are available only to US government civilian and military personnel with CAC
Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science
access and for official use only. However, most of the information on the webpage is
from open sources, and thus is available to anyone.

Special thanks are given to all those people outside of the Army Geospatial
Center who helped in this emergency project. They include the Reference Staff of the US
Geological Survey Library who replied promptly to our requests and made their services
so accessible (http://library.usgs.gov/); the public services staff of the Defense Technical
Information Center (DTIC) who responded so quickly to our requests, and bent over
backwards to make their information available online to the public
(http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/index.html); and to the Reference Staff of the Geography and
Map Division, The Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/).

Army Geospatial Center June 2010 2
Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science
Introduction
The Physical Features of Haiti1
Haiti is a country of about 28,000 square kilometers, and is about the size of the
state of Maryland. It occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (La
Isla Española); the Dominican Republic takes up the eastern two-thirds and borders Haiti
on the east. A series of treaties and protocols- the most recent of which was the Protocol
of Revision of 1936- set the 388 kilometer long eastern border, which is formed partly by
the Pedernales River in the south and the Massacre River in the north.
The Dominican Republic is Haiti’s only land border. To the south and west it is
bordered by the Caribbean and to the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba lies some 50
miles (80 km) west of Haiti’s northern peninsula, across the Windward Passage, a strait
connecting the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Jamaica is some 120 miles (190 km) west of the
southern peninsula, across the Jamaica Channel, and Great Inagua Island (of The
Bahamas) lies roughly 70 miles (110 km) to the north. Haiti claims sovereignty over
Navassa (Navase) Island, an uninhabited U.S.-administered islet about 35 miles (55 km)
to the west in the Jamaica Channel.
Haiti is shaped like a horseshoe on its side with prominent peninsulas in both the
north and the south, and a coastline of 1,771 kilometers long. Its shores are generally
rocky, rimmed with cliffs, and indented by a number of excellent natural harbours. The
surrounding seas are renowned for their coral reefs. Located between the peninsulas is the
Ile de la Gonâve. Northwest of the northern peninsula is the Windward Passage, a strip of
water that separates Haiti from Cuba, which is about ninety kilometers away.
Haiti operates five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Topography:
The generally rugged topography of central and western Hispaniola is reflected in
Haiti’s name, which derives from the indigenous Arawak place-name Ayti
(“Mountainous Land”). Five mountain ranges define Haiti’s topography, dividing the
country into three regions: the northern region, which includes the northern peninsula; the
central region; and the southern region, which includes the southern peninsula. The
backbone of the island of Hispaniola consists of four major mountain ranges that extend
from west to east.
Haiti’s mountains are mainly limestone, although some volcanic formations can
be found, particularly in the Massif du Nord. Karstic features, such as limestone caves,
grottoes, and subterranean rivers, are present in many parts of the country.
Although Haiti is mostly mountainous, the mountain ranges alternate with fertile
but overpopulated lowlands. Haiti’s tropical climate is modified by the mountains and
subject to periodic droughts and hurricanes.

1 The data in this introductory section are collected from a number of open literature and common
knowledge publications and resources, such as various almanacs, AGI’s “Glossary of Geology”, various
geographical dictionaries and gazetteers; encyclopedias such as the World Survey of Climatology, the
Encyclopedia Britannica, Encarta, Water Encyclopedia, etc.; open source government publications and
websites from the US Department of State, the Library of Congress, the Defense Technical Information
Center, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and many others; the CIA Factbook, and several
different reports, articles and books on Haiti from federal government geological and geographical
resources.
Army Geospatial Center June 2010 3
Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science
The lowest point is the Caribbean Sea at 0 meters and the highest peak, the Morne
de la Selle, is located in the south, and reaches an altitude of 2,715 meters. Slopes of
mountains with more than a 20 percent grade cover nearly two-thirds of the country.
Haiti’s irregular coastline forms a long, slender peninsula in the south and a
shorter one in the north, separated by the triangular-shaped Gulf of Gonâve. Within the
gulf lies Gonâve Island which has an area of approximately 290 square miles (750 square
km). There are no navigable rivers in Haiti. The largest lake is Etang Saumâtre, a salt-
water body located in southern region.
Lowland plains, which are quite limited in extent, are the most productive
agricultural lands and the most densely populated areas. Plains constitute only about 20
percent of Haiti’s land, making cultivation difficult.

Northern Region:
The northern region has the country’s largest coastal plain, the Plaine du Nord
(Northern Plain), which covers an area of 2,000 square kilometers. 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 north’s major mountain range, the Massif du Nord (Northern Massif),
buttresses this plain. It is a series of parallel chains known in the Dominican Republic as
the Cordillera Central. This is an extension of the central mountain range in the
Dominican Republic, which 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 and has an average elevation of some 4,000
feet (1,200 metres). The Citadel (Citadelle Laferrière), a fortress built by Haitian ruler
Henry Christophe in the early 19th century, stands atop one of the peaks overlooking the
city of Cap-Haïtien and the narrow coastal plain.

Central Region:
The central region of Haiti 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. This interior basin is known as the San Juan
Valley in the Dominican Republic and covers an area of more than 2,500 square
kilometers. In Haiti it occupies about 150 square miles (390 square km) in the centre of
the country. The Guayamouc River splits the Central Plateau and provides some of the
country’s most fertile soil. The plateau has an average elevation of about 1,000 feet (300
metres), and access to it is difficult through winding roads. (See Transportation and
Trafficability.)
The Department du Centre, Haiti's Centre Department is one of the ten
Departments of Haiti, and is located in the center of the country, along the border with
the Dominican Republic. This Haiti Department is also known as “The Plateau Central”.
It has an area of 3,675 km² and a population of 564,200 (2002). Its capital is Hinche. It
borders the Dominican Republic to the east. The Centre department is divided into 4
arrondissements: Cerca la Source; Hinche; Lascahobas and Mirebalais.2

2 Taken from “Haiti Geo.com,” at: http://www.haitigeo.com/ accessed July 25, 2010.
Army Geospatial Center June 2010 4
Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science

To the southwest of the Plateau Central are the Montagnes Noires, with elevations
of up to approximately 600 meters. It is bounded by two minor mountain ranges on the
west and south—respectively, the Cahos Mountains and the Noires Mountains.
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 lies the third major range, known as the Matheux Mountains
(Chaîne des Matheux) in west-central Haiti and the Trou d’Eau Mountains (Chaîne du
Trou d’Eau) farther east, corresponds to the Sierra de Neiba in the Dominican Republic.
The range forms the northern boundary to the narrow Cul-de-Sac Plain, which is
immediately adjacent to Port-au-Prince and includes the brackish Lake Saumâtre on the
Dominican border. (The Plaine du Cul-de-Sac is a natural depression, twelve kilometers
wide that extends thirty-two kilometers from the border with the Dominican Republic to
the coast of the Baie de Port-au-Prince.)

Southern Region:
Haiti’s southern region contains a series of small coastal plains as well as the
mountains of the Massif de la Selle. It encompasses both of Haiti’s highest point
Montagne Terrible, 2,684 meters, and the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, which is a natural
depression 12 kilometers wide and 32 kilometers wide.
South of the Cul-de-Sac Plain is the fourth major range, called the Massif de la
Selle in Haiti and the Sierra de Baoruco in the Dominican Republic. It rises to 8,773 feet
(2,674 metres) at Mount Selle, the highest point in the country. 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 range’s western extension on the southern peninsula is called the Massif de la
Hotte (also known as Massif du Sud), which rises to 7,700 feet (2,345 metres) at Macaya
Peak. The Cayes Plain lies on the coast to the southeast of the peak.

Islands:
Haiti’s land area includes numerous small islands as well as four large islands: Île
de la Gonâve to the west, Île de la Tortue (Tortuga Island) off the north coast, and Île à
Vache and Grande Cayemite, are situated, respectively, south and north of the southern
peninsula.
Ile de la Gonâve is sixty kilometers long and fifteen kilometers wide with an area
of approximately 290 square miles (750 square km). 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. The most northerly mountain range,
known as the Cordillera Septentrional in the Dominican Republic, occurs in Haiti only on
Tortue Island, off the northern coast. Tortue Island has an area of about 70 square miles
(180 square km). In the 17th century it was a stronghold of privateers and pirates from
various countries.
Army Geospatial Center June 2010 5
Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science

Caves of Haiti:
Haiti has karst areas throughout most of its surface area, notably in the Hotte
range in the south. In fact, “haiti” is also the local term for cone karst. Although caves
have been long known in that country, and were often used for religious purposes, most
of the exploration and documentation of the caves of Haiti comes from the 1980
Expédition Spéléologique Française (E.S.F.), led by Alan Oddou (Bull. Centre
Mediterranéen de Spél., 1980, 2: “Contribution à la Connaissance Spéléologique de la
Republique d’Haïti.” 33 pages. Their work was facilitated by the previous geological
studies of J. Butterlin.
Short caves:
bim Séjourné (vallée de Jacmel) 167 meters deep, altitude 710 meters
trouin Sene (massif de la Selle, Seguin) 92 meters deep
trouin Seguin (massif de la Selle, Seguin) 72 meters deep
trou Maïo 1 oe Nan Cadet (massif de la Selle, Seguin) 65 meters deep
trouin de la Scierie (massif de la Selle, Seguin) 63 meters deep
Long Caves:
Trouin Sene (Massif de la Selle, Seguin) 1,668 meters deep
Grotte de Port à Piment (massif du Macaya, Port à Piment) 1,000 meters deep
Grotte de Conoubois (Camp Perrin) approx 900 meters deep.3
See also: Miller, Gerrit Smith. 1929. “A Second Collection of Mammals from
Caves near St. Michel, Haiti.” Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. Miscellaneous
Collections. Volume 81 (9). 30 pages, 10 plates. Publication 3012.

Seismic Activity:
A long fault line crosses the southern peninsula and passes just south of Port-au-
Prince. Haiti is subject to
periodic seismic activity;
earthquakes destroyed Cap-
Haïtien in 1842 and Port-au-
Prince in 1751 and 1770.
Figure 2 Aerial view of
buildings in Port-au-Prince damaged
by the earthquake. Source: U.S.
Navy/Mass Communication
Specialist 2nd Class Chelsea Kennedy
In January 2010 another
catastrophic earthquake and its
aftershocks resulted in severe
damage to Port-au-Prince.
Buildings collapsed throughout the capital and surrounding region, including many
homes as well as large public structures such as the National Palace, the city’s cathedral,
and hospitals. Estimates of the number of people killed ranged upwards of 200,000, and
several hundred thousand others were injured. More than a million people were made

3 Courbon, Paul, et al. 1989. Atlas of Great Caves of the World. St. Louis, MO: Cave Books. Cave
Research Foundation. Pages 59-60. ISBN: 0939748215.
Army Geospatial Center June 2010 6
Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science
homeless. To the west of the capital, near the quake’s epicentre, the city of Léogâne was
almost completely ruined.

Weather and Climate:
Haiti’s is a generally hot and humid tropical climate; semiarid where the
mountains in east cut off the trade winds. 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.
Haiti is characterized by diurnal temperature variations that are greater than the
annual variations and are modified by elevation. Average temperatures range from the
high 70s F (about 25°C) in January and February to the mid-80s F (about 30°C) in July
and August. The village of Kenscoff, at some 4,700 feet (1,430 metres), has an average
temperature of about 60°F (16°C), whereas Port-au-Prince, at sea level, has an average of
79°F (26°C). In winter, frost can occur at high elevations.
Because it is located on the leeward side of the island the influence of humid trade
winds is not as great as in the Dominican Republic. The more humid districts are found
on the northern and eastern slopes of the mountains. Some portions of the island receive
less than 28 inches (700 mm) of rainfall per year. The northwestern peninsula and
Gonâve Island are particularly dry. Some regions have two rainy seasons, lasting from
April to June and from August to October, whereas other regions experience rainfall from
May to November. Annual variations of precipitation can cause droughts, widespread
crop failures, and famine.
Haiti lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to severe storms from
June to October, occasional flooding and periodic droughts. The southern peninsula,
which is more vulnerable to hurricanes (tropical cyclones) than other parts of Haiti,
suffered heavy damage from Hurricanes Allen (1980), Gilbert (1988), and Georges
(1998). All parts of the country, however, can be hit by tropical storms and hurricanes.
During the 2008 hurricane season, the country was struck by three tropical storms and
one hurricane that resulted in torrential rains, extensive flooding and mudslides, and
hundreds of reported casualties. The lack of government infrastructure and rescue
services, combined with impassable roads and bridges, severely hindered rescue and
relief efforts. Casualties were estimated at some 800 lives.
Daily weather information in Haiti is available from national and international
media. The Haitian meteorological service provides hurricane warnings via national
radio. Most information local media broadcast only in Kreyol and/or French. Warnings
are also available on the Internet from many sources.
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.

Army Geospatial Center June 2010 7
Bibliography of Haitian Earth Science
Mining and Economic Geology:
Endowed with few commercially valuable natural resources, Haiti maintained
only a small mining sector in the late 1980s; mining accounted for less than 1% of GDP,
and it employed less than 1% of the labor force. Mining activity in the late 1980s mostly
focused on raw materials for the construction industry.
Natural resources of Haiti include bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold,
marble and hydropower. Haiti contains relatively small amounts of gold, silver,
antimony, tin, lignite, sulphur, coal, nickel, gypsum, limestone, manganese, marble, iron,
tungsten, salt, clay, and various building stones.
Gold and copper are found in small quantities in the north of the country. The
government announced the discovery of new gold deposits in the northern peninsula in
1985, but long-standing plans for gold production proceeded slowly. Copper also was
mined, beginning in the 1960s, but production of the ore was sporadic.
There are bauxite (aluminum ore) deposits on the southern peninsula, but large-
scale mining there was discontinued in 1983. The country’s only bauxite mine, the
Miragoâne mine in the southern peninsula, produced an average of 500,000 tons of
bauxite a year in the early 1980s; however, in 1982 the declining metal content of the ore,
high production costs, and the oversupplied international bauxite market forced the mine
to close. Bauxite had at one time been the country’s second leading export.
Haiti apparently has no hydrocarbon resources on land or in the Gulf of Gonâve
and is therefore heavily dependent on energy imports (petroleum and petroleum
products).

Agriculture:
The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has a developing market economy
based in large part on agriculture and light industries. Coffee is the main cash crop.
Agriculture dominates the economy, but the domestic food supply has not kept pace with
demand. As much as one-fifth of the food consumed in Haiti is imported or, sometimes,
smuggled from the Dominican Republic or the United States; the imports have lowered
overall food prices in Haiti, thereby further impoverishing the nation’s struggling farmers
and compelling more people to migrate to urban areas.
Agriculture employed 65 percent of labor force and accounted for 35 percent of
GDP and 24 percent of exports in late 1980s. Production suffered from severe
deforestation and erosion, primitive techniques, land fragmentation, and lack of public
and private investment. Coffee was the leading export (a mild Arabica), but production
consistently fell below country’s export quota as determined by International Coffee
Organization. Other cash crops included sugar, cocoa, sisal, and cotton. Real per capita
production of food crops declined during 1980s, necessitating high levels of basic grains
imports.
Common agricultural products include coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn,
sorghum, and wood. Many farmers concentrate on subsistence crops, including cassava
(manioc), plantains and bananas, corn (maize), yams and sweet potatoes, and rice. Some
foodstuffs are sold in rural markets and along roads. Haitian farmers sell it through a
system of intermediaries, speculators, and merchant houses. Sugarcane is the second
major cash crop, but since the late 1970s Haiti has been a net importer of sugar.
Army Geospatial Center June 2010 8