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| Flag Haiti & Dominican Républic |
Hispaniola, also known as Santo Domingo or Haiti, is the second largest island in the Caribbean behind Cuba.
This is one of the few islands in the Caribbean to be shared between two independent countries: the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Toponymy
Names of the island of Santo Domingo.
Transcribed into English gives: Bohio, Quisqueya (or Kiskeya, where the official anthem of the Dominican Republic: Quisqueyanos valientes) or Ayiti (mountainous country in Caribbean language, became the name of the country which Haiti occupies the western third of the island).
Upon his arrival on the soil of the island in 1492 Columbus was astonished by the resemblance of some landscapes with Spain. He gave her name as La Española ("Spanish "), it says on the first card he drew. This name was later latinized in Hispaniola, and thus passed into the English language. Alternately under French and Spanish control, the island was also called "Saint-Domingue"and "Santo Domingo", by extension the name of the capital founded in 1502 south of the island.
Geography
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| Map of Hispaniola |
The island of Hispaniola is located in the center of the Greater Antilles between Cuba to the northwest, the southwest Jamaica and Puerto Rico to the east.
It lies between parallels 17 ° and 20 ° north latitude and meridians 68 ° and 75 ° longitude west of Greenwich.
The entire island has an area of 29529 square kilometers (76,480 km²) and is about 403 miles (650 km) from east to west, and its greatest width from north to south is about 155 miles (250 km). It has a population of nearly 18 million inhabitants, which makes a density of approximately 230 inhabitants per square kilometers.
Two independent countries share the island of Hispaniola: the Republic of Haiti to the west and the Dominican Republic to the east.
The island was originally a piece of the North American continent.
Coasts
Marine gulfs along the main north-east of the island: the probe descends to 26246 feet (8000 meters) off the Samana Peninsula.
Reliefs
The Indians called their island: Haiti, that is to say "high land". It is, indeed, dominated by a complicated set of mountain folds. The mountains extend north from the peninsula and the Dominican Engano to the Haitian peninsula to the south.
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| St-Marc Haiti |
Between the major mountain ranges of the island and along the sea extend from rich plains abundantly watered. The south-west of the island is in the form of two major mountain belts, one north, one south, separated by the plain of Cul-de-Sac and Lake Azuei ( Lac Azuei) in Haiti by Lake Enriquillo ,Neiba Plain and Laguna del Rincon in Dominican Republic.
This plain is a former arm of the sea cut up into two separate islands Hispaniola. The various bodies of water are relics, they are salted, are at a level below that of the sea and have only outlet for the evaporation.
Climate
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| Pétionville Haiti |
However, thanks to its relief, it is no shortage of areas where human activity promotes freshness.
Dominican Republic, Constanza Valley is renowned for its happy climate.
In the Republic of Haiti, it boasts the pleasant coolness of Petionville 1312 feet (400 m), Kenscoff 4593 feet (1400 meters), also at Valley Jacmel 2624 feet (800 meters).
In coastal cities, a cool breeze blows regularly, the sea breeze blows during the day, and the earth overnight.
The temperature in the shade, varies around 86°F (30 °C) in summer from 68°F to 78.8°F (20 to 26 ° C) in winter. Between May and November, rainstorms are frequent in the island. The winds are more or less dry and more or less violent. In some regions, the east wind causes drought.
