The Massif de la Hotte is a mountain range in southwestern

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, on the

Tiburon Peninsula The Tiburon Peninsula (french: Péninsule de Tiburon), or The Xaragua Peninsula, simply "the Tiburon" (''le Tiburon''), is a region of Haiti encompassing most of Haiti's southern coast. It starts roughly at the southernmost point of the Haiti-D ...

. About 2.5 million years ago, Massif de la Hotte was separated from the

Massif de la Selle In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

by a deep, wide sea channel, and formed a separate island. This resulted in a hotbed of

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

in la Hottes bird, plant, and reptile communities. The Massif de la Hotte is subdivided into the Oriental la Hotte in the East, the central la Hotte and the Occidental la Hotte on the Western tip of the Tiburon peninsula. The Occidental la Hotte is relatively remote and is one of the most biologically diverse and significant areas of all of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

. It also supports some of the last stands of Haiti's dense cloud forest on its peaks. Haiti has a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

located here. In the wake of the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's World Heritage Program is helping Haiti assess the damage.

Biodiversity and conservation

Occidental la Hottes is the highest and biologically most diverse part of Massif de la Hotte. Rising to a peak level of approximately 7700 ft (2347 m) in

Pic Macaya Pic Macaya (Macaya Peak) is the second-highest mountain in Haiti (after Pic la Selle), rising to an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Massif de la Hotte, northwest of Les Cayes and west of Port-au-Prince. The mountain is lo ...

; Haiti's second highest peak, the Massif's high and fluctuating elevations supports some of Hispaniola's highest levels of biological diversity and endemism. Notable conservation areas in the Massif de la Hotte include five National Parks, five Habitat/Species Management Areas, two Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources and the largest cave on the Caribbean islands Grotte Marie Jeanne. The National Parks are:

Pic Macaya National Park Pic Macaya National Park (french: Parc National Pic Macaya) is one of two national parks of the Republic of Haiti. It is located in the country's southern peninsula, within the Massif de la Hotte. Featuring the country's last stand of virgin cl ...

, Grande Colline National Park, Deux Mamelles National Park, Grand Bois National Park and Ile a Vache National Park. The Habitat/Species Management Areas are: Grosse Caye / Zone humide d'Aquin, Olivier / Zanglais, Pointe Abacou,

Fond de Cayes In the culinary arts, fond is a contraction of ''fonds de cuisine'' which is loosely described as "the foundation and working capital of the kitchen". It refers to a flavorful liquid that is used as foundation (''fondation'' in French, hence the ...

, la Cahouane. The two Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources are:

Jeremie - Abricot Jeremie or Jérémie may refer to: * Jérémie, a commune in Haiti * Jeremie (name), given name and surname, includes a list of people with the name * Jérémie (given name), includes a list of people with the name See also * Jeremy (disambiguati ...

and Barcaderes Caymites. Conservation International recognizes the region as one of the most conservation-urgent in the world in which 13 of Hispaniola's most critically endangered species (all amphibians) occur. Among the most critically endangered frog species are ''

Eleutherodactylus chlorophenax The false green robber frog (''Eleutherodactylus chlorophenax'') is a species of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae. It is endemic to the Massif de la Hotte, southwestern Haiti. Etymology The specific name ''chlorophenax'' is derived from ...

'' and ''

Eleutherodactylus parapelates ''Eleutherodactylus parapelates'' is a species of frog in the family Eleutherodactylidae. It is endemic to the Massif de la Hotte in southwestern Haiti. Common names Casillon robber frog ('' sic'' — the type locality is spelled "Castillon") an ...

'', two frog species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Haiti. The

Hispaniolan trogon The Hispaniolan trogon (''Priotelus roseigaster'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to Hispaniola (both Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in the Caribbean. It is one of the only two trogon species found in the Caribbea ...

has a recognized presence in the region.

La Hotte Biosphere Reserve

The La Hotte Biosphere Reserve was designated by

in 2016. The reserve covers an area of 435,193.5 ha (terrestrial and marine), with a core area of 117,119 ha (terrestrial 52,781.5 ha, marine 64,337.5 ha), a buffer zone of 185,027.5 ha (terrestrial 130,074.5 ha, marine: 54,953 ha), and a transition area of 133,047 ha (terrestrial 82,423 ha, marine: 50,624 ha)."La Hotte". UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme, June 2016. Accessed 30 December 2020

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References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of Haiti Grand'Anse (department) Sud (department) Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Biota of Hispaniola Hispaniolan moist forests