Centre (Haitian Creole: Sant) is one of the ten departments (French: départements) of Haiti, located in the center of the country, along the border with the Dominican Republic.
It has an area of 3,487 km² and a population of 746,236 in 2015.[1] Its capital is Hinche. It borders the Dominican Republic to the east. It is the only landlocked department of Haiti.
It contains the second largest lake in Haiti Lake Peligre, which was created as a result of the construction of the Peligre Hydroelectric Dam on the Artibonite River during the 1950s. It is the largest hydroelectric dam in the Caribbean.
Péligre Dam
The Péligre Dam is a gravity dam located off the Centre Department on the Artibonite River of Haiti. At 72 m (236 ft) it is the tallest dam in Haiti. The dam was created as a flood-control and an energy-providing measure in the Artibonite River Valley during the 1950s as part of the Artibonite Valley Agricultural Project. This dam impounds Lake Péligre.
Despite its purpose of providing energy throughout Haiti, many contend that the energy provided by the dam is not distributed equitably. Furthermore, the dam has had significant environmental, social, and health consequences on the local people who were forced to relocation as a result of the dam’s completion.
Bassim Zim is a famous waterfall.
Centre department is divided into four arrondissements:
- Cerca la Source Arrondissement
- Cerca-la-Source
- Thomassique
- Hinche Arrondissement
- Hinche
- Cerca-Cavajal
- Maissade
- Thomonde
- Lascahobas Arrondissement
- Lascahobas
- Belladere
- Savanette
- Mirebalais Arrondissement
- Mirebalais
- Saut-d’Eau
- Boucan-Carre
