The Department of Lwès (Kreyòl/Creole) or Ouest (François/French) has five communes, which are further subdivided into twenty sections.
Lwès Landscape Slideshow
Geography
The Department of Ouest is bordered to the north by Artibonite and Centre and the Mattheux mountain chain, the west by the Gulf of Gonave, the south by the Sud-Est department and the La Selle Mountain Chain, and the Dominican Republic to the east through the province of Independencia.
It is the second largest department in Haiti after Artibonite. Gonâve Island is also part of the Ouest department. The department's stretch of coastline lies entirely in the Gulf of Gonâve.
A part majority of the department lies in the Plaine-de-Cul-de-Sac which continues to the Dominican Repubic as the Hayo de Enriquillo. Two other plains that lie in the region are the Plain of Arcahaie-Cabaret and the Plain of Léoganes.
Gulf and Coast
The gulf is more than 500 km in length from Mole-Saint-Nicolas to Abricots and it consists of more than a dozen bays and harbors. The Bay of Port-au-Prince is the largest in the country and one of the biggest in the Caribbean harboring many islands, cays, and reefs. The island of Gonave is the largest satellite island on Hispaniola. It is the size of Singapore.
Geology
The earthquake activities in the area are a result of the Enriquillo-Plantain-Garden fault going from Jamaica to the Dominican Rep passing through the Xaragua Peninsula and the Gonave Microplate. Two well-documented earthquakes happened in the area.
- 1751 earthquake
- 2010 earthquake or Goudougoudou. The epicenter was in Léoganes affecting Jacmel, Léoganes, and Port-au-Prince and causing millions in damages and counting hundreds-thousand of casualties.
On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the department, the largest earthquake in Haiti in two centuries. In the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, many areas suffered damage. In the Léogâne Arrondissement, the city of Léogâne suffered 80-90% destruction. Other places in Léogâne were also affected.
Environment
The largest lake in the country is a salty lake in a depression of a plain called the same name, Azuei Lake. A smaller lake lies next to it -- Caiman Lake. Both lakes form a national park harboring flamingos and caimans.
The hills of Port-au-Prince consist of a mountain from the Massif de la Selle-Cordillera Meridional, where one can find multiple forests such as Foret-des-Pins and Parc-la-Visite.
The most important rivers in the Ouest department are the Blanche River, Froide River, Monance River, and Bois-de-Chène Ravine.
Restoration Project Sites
(more to come)
Expected Impact
Contact Details
ORGANIZATION
Name, Project Manager
ORGANIZATION
Name, Project Manager