Nord (Haitian department)

Nord (English: North) is one of the ten departments (French: départments, singular départment) of Haiti. After the Haitian Revolution, the country was divided into only three departments: Nord, Ouest and Sud. The Nord-Est and Nord-Ouest departments were part of the Nord department.

Its capital and largest city is Cap-Haïtien, founded in 1670 by Bertrand d'Orgeron and the old capital city of Saint-Domingue. It had the nickname of Paris of Saint-Domingue.

 Geography 
The Départment du Nord has an area of 2,106 km². It is bordered to the northwest by the Nord-Ouest Department, to the east by the Nord-Est Department, to the southeast by the Centre Department and to the west by the Artibonite Department. The Atlantic Ocean is to the north.

The main rivers of the department are Grande Rivière du Nord, Haut du Cap and Limbé. The rivers Trois-Rivières and Bouyaha have their sources in this department. All these rivers, except Bouyaha that is a tributary of the river Artibonite, flow to the north, into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Massif du Nord mountain range, known in the Dominican Republic as Cordillera Central, runs from the northwest to the southeast along the southern half of the department. This Massif du Nord is formed by several chains and the most important, in this department, are the Chaine de la Grande Rivière du Nord and the 'Chaine de Saint Raphael.

The Pleine du Nord (in English, "Northern Plain") is in the northern half of the department.

 Population 
The department had, in the 2003 census, a population of 823,043 persons: 393,547 men and 429,496 women, with 325,318 (39.53%) living in cities and towns.

 Administrative division 
The department is divided into seven arrondissements (like districts) and 19 communes'' (like municipalities). The "arrondissements" and their "communes" are:
 Acul-du-Nord
 Acul-du-Nord
 Milot
 Plaine-du-Nord
 Borgne
 Borgne
 Port-Margot
 Cap-Haïtien
 Cap-Haïtien
 Limonade
 Quartier-Morin
 Grand-Rivière du Nord
 Grande-Rivière-du-Nord
 Bahon
 Limbé
 Limbé
 Bas-Limbé
 Plaissance
 Plaisance
 Pilate
 Saint-Raphaël
 Saint-Raphaël
 Dondon
 La Victoire
 Pignon
 Ranquitte

 References 

Category:Departments of Haiti