Massif de la Hotte

Millions of years ago, the Massif de la Hotte was separated from the rest of the country now known as Haiti by a sea channel that was wide and deep. The remoteness this separation caused gave way to a wellspring of naturally occurring species of plants, birds and reptiles. Today, all that separates the mountain range in the south west of Haiti from the rest of Haiti is its height of 7700 ft.

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Found to the far west of the Tiburon Peninsula, the Massif de la Hotte is still home to many of Haiti's most diverse species, endemic to the area and often endangered. The threat comes from the steady decline in Haiti's forests. As it stands, this mountain range has some of the last cloud forests found in Haiti at its peak, deforestation through floods, mudslides and human effort having taken the once abundant geographical feature by force.

The danger this poses to the different species, especially to the myriad species of indigenous amphibians found there, has put the area on the list for urgent conservation action of the highest global priority by the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE). Some thirteen species of frogs can be found there and nowhere else on earth. As such, there is a World Heritage site there.

Boasting some of Hispaniola's greatest endemism and biological diversity, the area, which is mostly found within the Pic Macaya National Park, is home to the Hispaniolan Trogon, and two indigenous species, the Eleutherodactylus parapelates and, one of the most gravely endangered species of frog, the Eleutherodactylus chlorophenax.

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Read more: Mountain, Massif de la Hotte, Tiburon, Haiti

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