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Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a port city in Haiti. It sits beside a bay, below green hills!
Cap-Haïtien, also called Le Cap, is a port in the north of Haiti and the main town of the North department. The encyclopedia Larousse says the French founded it in 1670. Haiti's 2003 census counted 111,094 people in the city.
Cap-Haïtien (Le Cap), a port of the Republic of Haiti and chief town of the Nord department, was founded by the French in 1670 and was the capital of the colony of Saint-Domingue until 1770 (Larousse); it had 64,406 inhabitants at the 1982 census and 111,094 at the 2003 census (City Population, from the Haitian Institute of Statistics and Informatics).
Photo: Rémi Kaupp, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city in Haiti, a country on an island in the Caribbean Sea.
Ships come to its port by the bay.
Cap-Haïtien, often called simply Le Cap, is a port in the north of Haiti. The French encyclopedia Larousse calls it the main town of the North department.
Haiti's census of 7 August 2003 counted 111,094 people in the city. An official estimate for 1 July 2009 gave 155,505 people in the city and 244,660 in the wider built-up area around it, the second biggest in Haiti after Port-au-Prince's.
Larousse ('Cap-Haïtien ou Le Cap'): a port of the Republic of Haiti, chef-lieu (main town) of the Nord department; population 111,094 (2003 census); founded by the French in 1670, the town was the capital of Saint-Domingue until 1770. City Population (from the Institut Haïtien de Statistique et d'Informatique), 'Cap-Haïtien', status City: 64,406 (census 30 August 1982), 111,094 (census 7 August 2003, provisional), 155,505 (official estimate 1 July 2009); Major Agglomerations, estimate 2009: Port-au-Prince 2,296,386, Cap-Haïtien 244,660. City Population does not tabulate later estimates. The Nord department: 2,115 km², 970,495 people (2009 estimate).
- Country
- Haiti: a port, the main town of the North (Nord) department (Larousse)
- People in the city (census, 7 August 2003)
- 111,094 (provisional census result)
- Official estimate (1 July 2009)
- 155,505 in the city; 244,660 in its agglomeration (City Population)
- Founded
- 1670, by the French (Larousse)
A city between the hills and the bay
Look at all the roofs, red, orange and gray!
The water of the bay shines at the left, and green land stretches far away.
Rémi Kaupp took this photo in the summer of 2006 from a morne, a hill, beside the city. It shows a packed town of red, orange and gray roofs, a few large white buildings, palm trees by the shore, a calm bay with ships at the left, a winding stretch of water beyond the town and flat green land reaching to hazy hills.
On Wikidata, the seaport is about 1.1 kilometers north-northeast of the city's point, and Morne Lory, a mountain, about 1.6 kilometers northwest.
Commons: 'View of Cap-Haitien', by Rémi Kaupp (CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL; uploaded by his account Korrigan in August 2006), summer 2006; his description: a view of Cap-Haïtien from a morne (a hill), with the city center in front; camera point 19.7570° N, 72.2021° W, 0.81 km NNW of the city's Wikidata point. The photo shows dense low buildings, the bay with anchored ships at the left, a winding inlet and flat green land with a long straight strip beyond. A 2006 photo: it shows the city as it was then. Wikidata, from the city point (Q216835): Port international du Cap-Haïtien (Q7231070), a seaport, 1.09 km NNE; Morne Lory (Q26226223), a mountain in Nord, 1.57 km NW.
- In the photo
- Cap-Haïtien from a nearby hill, summer 2006 (Rémi Kaupp)
- Morne Lory
- a mountain about 1.6 km northwest of the city's point (Wikidata)
- Port
- Port international du Cap-Haïtien, a seaport about 1.1 km north-northeast of the city's point (Wikidata)
A town since 1670
Cap-Haïtien was started a very long time ago, in 1670.
Until 1770, it was the capital of the colony there.
Larousse says the French founded Cap-Haïtien in 1670, and that it was the capital of Saint-Domingue, the French colony of that time, until 1770.
Much later, Haiti's censuses counted 64,406 people in the city in 1982 and 111,094 in 2003. Between those two counts, the number of people grew by about 72 percent.
Larousse: 'Fondée par les Français en 1670, la ville fut la capitale de Saint-Domingue jusqu'en 1770.' Wikidata also gives 1670. City Population: 64,406 (1982 census), 111,094 (2003 census, provisional), 155,505 (2009 official estimate); 111,094 ÷ 64,406 ≈ 1.72.
- 1670
- founded by the French (Larousse)
- Until 1770
- the capital of Saint-Domingue, the French colony of that time (Larousse)
- 1982 and 2003 censuses
- 64,406 and 111,094 people (City Population)
Port, airport and point
Ships come to the port, and planes land at the airport.
Both are close to the city.
Larousse calls Cap-Haïtien a port. On Wikidata, its seaport is about 1.1 kilometers north-northeast of the city's point, and Cap-Haïtien International Airport about 2.0 kilometers south-southeast.
Pointe Picolet, a point of land in the North department, is about 4.1 kilometers north. In the photo, ships lie at anchor in the bay at the left.
Wikidata from the city point (Q216835): Port international du Cap-Haïtien (Q7231070) 1.09 km NNE; Cap-Haitien International Airport (Q2286957), 'an airport serving Cap-Haïtien', 1.96 km SSE (first of two points); Pointe Picolet (Q26225799), a point in Nord, 4.12 km N.
- Seaport
- Port international du Cap-Haïtien (Wikidata)
- Airport
- Cap-Haïtien International Airport, about 2.0 km south-southeast of the city's point (Wikidata)
- Headland
- Pointe Picolet, a point about 4.1 km north (Wikidata)
On a Caribbean island
Cap-Haïtien is by the sea, in the warm tropics.
Cap-Haïtien lies at about 19.75° north, between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer, beside the sea. On Wikidata, the city's point is at sea level, and the airport's point is about 2.0 kilometers south-southeast.
The World Meteorological Organization's city list has no table of monthly averages for Cap-Haïtien. The 2006 photo was taken in summer, on a hazy day.
No climate table: Cap-Haïtien is not in the WMO city list. Wikidata point 19.75° N, 72.20° W; elevation 0 m (Wikidata only, not used on the panel).
- Beside the city
- a calm bay, seen in the 2006 photo (Commons)
- Latitude
- about 19.75° north, in the tropics (Wikidata)
- Height of the city's point
- near sea level (Wikidata gives 0 m)
A port for the north
Cap-Haïtien is the main town of the north of Haiti.
More than 100,000 people were counted there in 2003.
Cap-Haïtien is the main town of the Nord department, which covers 2,115 square kilometers. An official estimate for 2009 counted 970,495 people in the department.
In City Population's 2009 list of Haiti's biggest built-up areas, Port-au-Prince comes first, Cap-Haïtien second and Gonaïves third. Larousse names the city first of all as a port, and Wikidata lists its seaport about 1.1 kilometers from the city's point.
City Population, departments: Nord, capital Cap-Haïtien, 2,115 km²; 514,584 (1971 census), 564,002 (1982), 823,043 (2003), 970,495 (2009 estimate). Major Agglomerations (estimate 1 July 2009): Port-au-Prince 2,296,386; Cap-Haïtien 244,660; Gonaïves 228,725.
- Role
- main town of the Nord department (Larousse)
- Nord department
- 2,115 km², 970,495 people (2009 estimate, City Population)
- Haiti's biggest built-up areas (2009 estimate)
- Port-au-Prince 2,296,386; Cap-Haïtien 244,660; Gonaïves 228,725
Cap-Haïtien on the map
Find the Caribbean Sea on the globe, then Haiti. Cap-Haïtien is in its north.
Cap-Haïtien lies at about 19.75° north and 72.20° west, in Haiti's North department.
On Wikidata, the seaport is about 1.1 kilometers north-northeast of the city's point, Morne Lory about 1.6 kilometers northwest, the airport about 2.0 kilometers south-southeast and Pointe Picolet about 4.1 kilometers north.
Cap-Haïtien lies at about 19.75° N, 72.20° W (Wikidata point of Cap-Haïtien, Q216835, given to 0.01°; the sheet point is 1.66 km NW of it). Wikidata from the city point: port 1.09 km NNE; Morne Lory 1.57 km NW; airport 1.96 km SSE; Pointe Picolet 4.12 km N.
- Latitude
- about 19.75° north
- Longitude
- about 72.20° west
- Department
- Nord, in the north of Haiti (Larousse)
Amazing facts
-
People often call Cap-Haïtien just 'Le Cap'!
Larousse gives the city's short name too: Le Cap.
Larousse: 'Cap-Haïtien ou Le Cap'.
-
Cap-Haïtien was once the capital of a colony, until 1770!
Larousse says the French founded Cap-Haïtien in 1670 and that it was the capital of their colony of Saint-Domingue until 1770.
Larousse: founded in 1670; capital of Saint-Domingue until 1770.
-
Cap-Haïtien's built-up area is the second biggest in Haiti!
In City Population's list of Haiti's biggest built-up areas for 2009, Cap-Haïtien, with 244,660 people, comes second after Port-au-Prince.
City Population, Major Agglomerations (official estimate 2009): Port-au-Prince 2,296,386; Cap-Haïtien 244,660.
Words to know
- census
- an official count of all the people living in a place
- port
- a town or place where ships load and unload
- department
- one of the large areas that Haiti is divided into
- colony
- a land ruled by a faraway country
- morne
- a hill: the word the photographer used for the hill he stood on
- estimate
- a careful best guess of a number, made without counting everyone
Discovery challenge
-
Cap-Haïtien is in which country?
In which country is Cap-Haïtien?
Cap-Haïtien is the chief town of the Nord department of which country?
- Haiti
- Peru
- Iceland
Show the answer
Haiti
Haiti!
Haiti.
Haiti.
-
In which year was Cap-Haïtien founded?
According to Larousse, in which year was Cap-Haïtien founded?
Which founding year does Larousse give for Cap-Haïtien?
- 1670
- 1970
- 1170
Show the answer
1670
1670!
1670, by the French.
1670.
-
What is Cap-Haïtien's short name?
Which short name does Larousse give for Cap-Haïtien?
Larousse lists Cap-Haïtien with which alternative name?
- Le Cap
- Le Port
- La Baie
Show the answer
Le Cap
Le Cap!
Le Cap.
Le Cap.
-
How many people did the 2003 count find in Cap-Haïtien?
How many people did Haiti's 2003 census count in Cap-Haïtien?
What 2003 census figure do Larousse and City Population give for Cap-Haïtien?
- 111,094
- 11,109
- 1,110,940
Show the answer
111,094
111,094!
111,094 people.
111,094.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Cap-Haïtien on the north coast of Haiti.
- Tell the difference between a census count and an official estimate.
- Read a timeline that runs from 1670 to 2009.
- Describe what a port town does for the region around it.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a town by a sheltered bay become a port?
- Why would a country make an estimate between two censuses?
- What does a city's role as the main town of a department mean for the people around it?
Try at home or in class
- Timeline strip: mark 1670, 1770, 1982, 2003 and 2009 on a paper strip, one centimeter for every ten years.
- Count and guess: compare the 2003 census count with the 2009 estimate and work out the difference.
- Bay map: draw the bay from the photo, mark where ships could anchor and add the town around the shore.
Key vocabulary: census, port, department, colony, morne, estimate
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Cap-Haïtien ou Le Cap , Larousse encyclopédie
- Haiti: Departments, Major Cities, Towns & Agglomerations , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Institut Haïtien de Statistique et d'Informatique
- View of Cap-Haitien , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.