Étang Saumâtre (English: brackish pond) is ÉtangSaumâthe largest lake in Haiti and the second largest lake in the Dominican Republic and Hispaniola, after Lake Enriquillo. It is also known as Lake Azuéi (Lac Azuéi); its Taíno name was Yainagua.
Unlike its hypersaline neighbor, Étang Saumâtre is a brackish water lake. It lies east of Port-au-Prince on the fertile Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. The lake supports over 100 species of waterfowl, American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus), and several other fauna found nowhere else in Haiti. The color of the lake is an intense shade of blue, and it is skirted by brush and cacti.
Geography
Étang Saumâtre is located on the arid part of the valley Cul-de-Sac, east of Port-au-Prince in the Ouest department. Its eastern side is part of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic; the Dominican city of Jimaní is less than 1 km from the southeast end of the lake.
The lake itself is part of a chain of nearby saline lakes that lie within the 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 valley are below sea level. While the lake created in a depression is long and wide.
Étang Saumâtre is landlocked, as it has no surface outlet. It is fed by springs emanating from calcareous rocks. The western part of the lake has slightly saline water, while the eastern part has fresh water.
The lake has a length, from northwest to southeast, of ; its maximum width is . The total area is . The lake water has an elevation of with maximum water depth being . A sandy shore, shallow lagoons and mudflats form the eastern shore line, while the western shores have small fresh water springs and marshes. The eastern shore is state-owned, but parts of the western side of the lake are privately owned. Salinity of the lake water is now reported as 15‰ (parts per thousand). Lake water fluctuations are minimal, at about , except during the drought period, when the water level could go down by . Conversely, the water level rises about above the average during heavy rainfall years. The present assessment is that the level of the lake has been rising in recent years, forcing Haitians who live in plantation residential areas ("bateyes") around the edge of the lake to seek higher ground.
Another inference drawn by a comparison between the two lakes – Azuéi and Enriquillo – which are in the same area and have the same origin is that though they are considered "twins," they are two dissimilar bodies of water. Azuéi has a stable shore line, its waters are azure blue in colour, salinity level is low (11‰) and its surface area is relatively stable. However, Enriquillo's water looks white-greyish in colour, its salinity levels are very high (they have risen from 36‰ to 110‰) and current water surface area ( compares to in 1968. The climatic conditions for both lakes are similar (low rainfall in the range of ), within similar geological setting.
Azuéi's salinity is about one fifth (1/5) the salinity of sea water. A few small rivers flow into the lake.
Fauna and flora
The lake and its surrounding land are habitat for flora and fauna of several endemic species, including invertebrates, fishes and reptiles. This endemism is also common to the twin lakes, due to proximity and common history.
Fauna
The lake supports over 100 species of waterfowl (including flamingos), as well as American crocodiles; freshwater species of turtle, including the Hispaniolan slider (Trachemys decorata) and other reptiles, such as the rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta). Some fishes, such as tilapia, are also found. Its recognized importance is as a breeding, passage and wintering area for numerous bird species: as many as 300–400 breeding pairs of wading birds in the Ciconiiformes can be found in the eastern zone of the lagoon. Important avian raptor species of the lake include the osprey (Pandion haliaetus).
American crocodiles
American crocodiles are found in the lake, and have instilled fear among the local community. It is one factor responsible for the poor development of the lake as an ecotourism project. Extensive studies have been reported on this species of crocodile, as opposed to the Central American Crocodylus moreletii and the South American Crocodylus intermedius.