n 100 inches (2,500 mm) on the highlands in the east and south. The country is subject to periodic droughts, which occasionally lead to extensive crop damage and famine. Hurricanes often occur between August and November.
             The virgin-forest vegetation that once covered Haiti now occupies less than one-tenth of the total land area and consists chiefly of some pine forests at high elevations and scattered stands of tropical rain forest (mahogany, cedar, and rosewood). Coconut palms, coffee, cacao, avocado, mango, lime, and orange trees grow wild; mangroves are found along the tidal coasts. Native fauna includes caimans, lizards, ducks, wild pigeons, and flamingos.
             Haiti's mineral resources are limited. The hydroelectric-power potential of the Artibonite River, on which several hydroelectric dams have been built, is considerable, but silting of some reservoirs due to soil erosion has severely reduced the river's electrical generating capacity.
             Nearly all Haitians are descendants of the 480,000 African slaves who won their freedom at the time of Hai
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