Etang Saumâtre

Infobox lake
lake_name = Etang Saumâtre
image_lake = Etang Saumatre NASA.jpg
caption_lake = View from space
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = Plaine du Cul-de-Sac
coords = coord|18.5975|N|72.0147222|W|type:waterbody_region:HT|display=inline,title
type = saline lake
inflow =
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catchment =
basin_countries = Haiti
length = 29 km (18 mi)
width = 9.7 km (6 mi)
area = 170 km² (65 sq mi)
depth =
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Étang Saumâtre (also known as Lake Azuei), Haiti's largest lake, is located at coord|18.5975|N|72.0147222|W| in southeastern Haiti, bordering the Dominican Republic. The salt-water lake has an area of around 170 km² (65 square miles) and is 29 km (18 miles) east of Port-au-Prince on the fertile Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. Some 29 km (18 miles) long and up to 9.7km (6 miles) wide, the lake supports over 100 species of waterfowl, flamingos and American crocodiles, one of the few lakes of its type in the world to harbor such fauna. The colour of the lake is an intense shade of blue and this picturesque lake is skirted by brush and cacti.

The lake itself is part of a chain of nearby saline lakes that lie in the Hispaniolan rift valley, (known as the Cul-de-Sac Depression in Haiti and the Hoya de Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic). Because the region was a former marine strait, several areas of the rift valley are below sea level.

ources

* "Saumâtre, Étang." "The Columbia Gazetteer of North America". Columbia University Press: 2000. [http://www.bartleby.com/69/7/S07107.html]