Los Haitises National Park is a national park located on the remote northeast coast of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

that was established in 1976. It consists of a limestone

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

plateau with conical hills, sinkholes and caverns, and there is a large area of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

forest on the coast. Other parts of the park are clad in subtropical humid forest and the area has an annual precipitation of about . The park contains a number of different habitats and consequently has a great diversity of mammals and birds, including some rare species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the island. Some of the caverns contain

pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

s and

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s. The park has become a popular

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

destination but the number of tourists allowed to visit is limited.

History

The park was created by Law 409 enacted June 3, 1976. It was preceded by a Reserva Forestal (Forest Reserve) called Zona Vedada de Los Haitises (Los Haitises Prohibited Zone), created by Law 244. In 1996, its area was expanded from by Decree 233. Its boundary, which has been redrawn on several occasions, is uncertain. The bulk of the park is located in the municipality of

Sabana de la Mar Sabana de la Mar, usually spelled in English as Savana de la Mar, is a town in the Hato Mayor Province, Hato Mayor Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province of the Dominican Republic. Sabana de la Mar is located in the northeastern region of D ...

, province of Hato Mayor, while the remainder lies in the provinces of

Monte Plata Monte Plata is a town, Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') and the capital city, capital of the Monte Plata Province, Monte Plata Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the Dominican Republic. It inclu ...

and Samaná. Sabana de la Mar is the site of a visitors' center. Despite advanced

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

, the precipitation is still considerable, ranging from annually. The park is near the top rank in both annual total rainfall and annual number of rainy days among sites in the Dominican Republic.

Geology

The area was formed during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

epoch of the

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

period.

Geomorphologically Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand why ...

, it is a platform karst with dense clusters of conical hills of nearly uniform height () in between which there are many

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

s. The maximum dimensions of this platform karst block are east to west (from Sabana de la Mar to Cevicos) by north to south (from the

Samaná Bay Samaná Bay is a bay in the eastern Dominican Republic. The Yuna River flows into Samaná Bay, and it is located south of the town of Samaná and the Samaná Peninsula. Wildlife Among its features are protected islands that serve as nesting site ...

Bayaguana Bayaguana is a Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') of the Monte Plata Province, Monte Plata Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the Dominican Republic. As of the Dominican Republic's 2002 census, th ...

). The hills of the interior have the same origin as the islets of the Samaná Bay. There is a multitude of caverns. Hydrographically, Los Haitises spans portions of two basins: in its western half, the lower basin of the

Yuna River The Yuna River (Spanish: ''Río Yuna'') is the second longest river in the Dominican Republic, stretching for a length of 185.17 km (115.06 miles). It forms within the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic, Cordillera Central mountain range south ...

; and in its eastern half, a zone spanning

Miches Miches is a town located in El Seibo province in the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. The community sits between the northern slopes of the Cordillera Oriental and the southern shore of the Samaná Bay. Origin of name In 1936, the com ...

and

. The Yuna drains through two mouths: its own and that of the Barracote River. In addition to these two rivers, the park is traversed by the Payabo River, the Los Cocos River, the Naranjo River, and numerous natural channels including the Cabirma, Estero, and Prieto.

Flora

Dominican republic Los Haitises mangroves

Los Haitises has two

Holdridge life zones The Holdridge life zones system is a global bioclimatic scheme for the classification of land areas. It was first published by Leslie Holdridge in 1947, and updated in 1967. It is a relatively simple system based on few empirical data, giving ob ...

: humid subtropical forest (Bh-S) and very humid subtropical forest (Bmh-S). Broadleaf species in the park include "musk wood" ('' Guarea guidonia'', locally ''cabirma santa''), cigar-box cedar (''

Cedrela odorata ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina ...

''), ceiba (''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order (biology), order Malvales and the family (biology), family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, ...

''), West Indian mahogany (''

Swietenia mahagoni ''Swietenia mahagoni'', commonly known as American mahogany, Cuban mahogany, small-leaved mahogany, and West Indian mahogany, is a species of ''Swietenia'' native to the broader Caribbean bioregion. It is the species from which the original mahog ...

'', Spanish ''caoba''), cupey (''

Clusia rosea ''Clusia rosea'', the autograph tree, copey, cupey, balsam apple, pitch-apple, and Scotch attorney, is an evergreen, tropical and sub-tropical flowering plant species in the family Clusiaceae. The name ''Clusia major'' is sometimes misapplied to ...

''), and grandleaf seagrape (''

Coccoloba pubescens ''Coccoloba'' is a genus of 177 species of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae, which is native to the Neotropics. There is no overall English name for the genus, although many of the individual species have widely used common names. Ran ...

''). There are many species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s. Los Haitises contains the greatest abundance of Caribbean

, in which species like red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', also known as the red mangrove, is a salt-tolerant, small-to-medium sized evergreen tree restricted to coastal, estuarine ecosystems along the southern portions of North America, the Caribbean as well as Central America ...

'') and white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia'' is a genus of plants in the family Combretaceae. The only species in the genus is ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Am ...

'') predominate.

Fauna

The

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

of Los Haitises is of great variety, and due to the park's diversity of physical geographic zones, it has the greatest diversity of fauna among the protected natural areas in the country. Two

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

species, the

Hispaniolan hutia The Hispaniolan hutia (''Plagiodontia aedium'') is a small, rat-like mammal endemic to forests on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic). It lives in burrows or trees, and is active at night when it fe ...

(''Plagiodontia aedium'') and the

Hispaniolan solenodon The Hispaniolan solenodon (''Solenodon paradoxus''), also known as the agouta, is a small, furry, shrew-like mammal endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Like other solenodons, it is a venomous, in ...

(''Solenodon paradoxus''), are threatened with extinction. Being a coastal and marine park, it contains a large variety of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s, including most of the species endemic to the country. These include the

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth ...

or ''alcatraz'' (''Pelecanus occidentalis''),

magnificent frigatebird The magnificent frigatebird (''Fregata magnificens''), frigate petrel or man o' war is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of and wingspan of , it is the largest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtr ...

(''Fregata magnificens''), Hispaniolan amazon (''Amazona ventralis''),

barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...

(''Tyto alba''), and

stygian owl The Stygian owl (''Asio stygius'') is a medium-sized "typical owl" in subfamily Striginae. It is found in Mexico, parts of Central America, Cuba, Hispaniola, and 10 countries in South America.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of t ...

(''Asio stygius''). The largest population in the world of the endemic

Ridgway's hawk Ridgway's hawk (''Buteo ridgwayi'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae endemic to the island of Hispaniola (both Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in the Caribbean. It is classified as Critically Endangered because of habitat destructio ...

(''Buteo ridgwayi'') is in the park.

Tourism

Dominican Republic Los Haitises birds island

Los Haitises National Park is a protected virgin forest with little road access. The number of tourists allowed is limited, but since 2000 it has been a relatively popular destination for

using ecological guides from Sabana de La Mar. ''Haiti'' (singular) means highland or mountain range in the

Taíno language Taíno is an Arawakan language formerly spoken widely by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. In its revived form, there exist several modern-day Taíno language variants including Hiwatahia-Taino and Tainonaiki. At the time of Spanish contact ...

, although the elevation of the park's hills ranges from . There is a multitude of caverns created by water erosion. Native Americans adorned these caverns with

pictograph A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

s and

s. The culture or cultures which created these artworks remain unidentified, some of them possibly predating the Taínos. Los Haitises National Park contains spectacular landscapes like the San Lorenzo Bay, the islets (keys), and the mangroves. The Cayo de los Pájaros ("bird key"), which is conspicuous for the virtually continuous presence of frigatebirds and pelicans circling low overhead, sits between the Boca del Infierno ("Mouth of Hell") and El Naranjo Arriba. Cupey is the dominant tree species and birds fill its horizontal branches. The wild banyantree (''

Ficus citrifolia ''Ficus citrifolia'', also known as the shortleaf fig, giant bearded fig, Jagüey, wild banyantree and Wimba tree, is a species of banyan native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America south to Par ...

'',A synonym for ''F. citrifolia'' is ''F. laevigata''
/ref> also known as shortleaf fig) and tropical almond (''

Terminalia catappa ''Terminalia catappa'' is a large Tropics, tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, ...

'') are the other park trees. Most visitors arrive by sea embarking from

(east end),

Sánchez Sánchez is a Spanish family name. Historical origins "The illustrious Sanchez Family... is descended from one of a number of Gothic knights (caballeros) who in the year 714 escaped from the ‘barbara furia’ of the Mohammedan invasion and to ...

(north end), or Samaná (across

to Sabana de la Mar center); however, it is possible to arrive by land from the south using four-wheel drive vehicles. A private highway is being constructed through the mountains and a new airport is being built in the city of Samaná to provide better access. The main economic activities in

Monte Plata Province Monte Plata () is an eastern Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province of the Dominican Republic, and also the name of its capital city. It was split from San Cristóbal (province), San Cristóbal in 1992. The province is bordered to the nor ...

are cattle ranching and sugarcane farming. Tourists will find a large number of roads for sugarcane transport.

Notes and references

{{authority control National parks of the Dominican Republic Geography of Hato Mayor Province Biota of Hispaniola Protected areas established in 1976 Tourist attractions in Hato Mayor Province Geography of Monte Plata Province Geography of Samaná Province 1976 establishments in the Dominican Republic