Geography

CUBA GEOGRAPHY

Cuba is situated in the southern part of the Straits of Florida, near the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. With an expansive land area of 110,860 km2, Cuba is widely recognized as the largest and most diverse island in the West Indies. It spans 1250 km in length and varies in width between 31 and 191 km.

Cuba is one of the Greater Antilles, which also includes Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. This island, shaped like a crocodile, is approximately 80 km away from Haiti, 140 km from the Bahamas, 145 km from Florida, 210 km from Mexico, and 146 km from Jamaica.

The Cuban archipelago comprises over 4,000 islands and cays. Along the southern coast, you can find archipelagos known as Jardines de la Reina and the Canarreos. The northeastern shoreline is marked by the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, while the Colorados Archipelago lies along the northwestern coast. Cuba's main island boasts an impressive coastline of 5,746 km, featuring more than 200 bays and 289 beaches. In the southwestern part of Cuba, you can find the second largest island called the Isle of Youth (Isla de la Juventud), spanning an area of 2,200 km2.

Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and 169 municipalities. The fifteen provinces are: Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque, La Habana, Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Avila, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo.

From a geological perspective, Cuba is considered part of North America. The boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates runs east-west beneath the Caribbean Sea, south of the island. Along this plate margin, there exists a deep underwater rift valley that stretches between Cuba and Jamaica. This feature is located quite near the southern coast of Cuba, close to the Sierra Maestra mountain range. The underwater valley reaches depths of 6,000 m just a few miles offshore. Due to the geological activity occurring along the plate boundary, the eastern region of Cuba is the most prone to earthquakes in the country. Notable earthquakes have taken place in Bayamo in 1551 and Santiago de Cuba in 1932.

Cuba is experiencing a gradual tilt towards the north, resulting in the emergence of the northern coastline from the sea. This emergence has revealed old coral reefs that now make up a significant portion of the coastline, leading to the existence of coral limestone cliffs and sandy beaches along the northern coast. In contrast, the southern coastline is gradually sinking, giving rise to a series of wetlands and mangroves that extend from the Ensenada de Cortés in the west to the Gulf of Guacanayabo in the east. The southern coast has fewer sandy beaches compared to the northern part of the island.

One of Cuba's remarkable natural features is the Zapata Swamp, which not only is the largest wetland in the country but also in the entire Caribbean region. It is considered the most well-preserved wetland in the Antilles and features a diverse range of environments, including blue-water beaches, forests, rivers, lakes, flooded caverns, ponds, and swamp prairies.

Cuba is home to numerous small rivers, with most of them spanning less than 100 kilometers in length. Among them, there are 30 rivers flowing towards the south and 11 flowing towards the north. The Río Cauto, located in the southeast, holds the title of being the longest river in Cuba, stretching for 343 kilometers. However, only a portion of this river is navigable.

The majority of Cuba's landscape is characterized by flat or gently rolling terrain, with various types of limestone covering about two-thirds of the island. The most common soils found in these areas, which are formed on limestone, include terra rossa, distinguished by its bright red color due to iron oxides, and vertisols, which are dark, fertile soils that develop deep cracks during the dry season.

Approximately one-fourth of Cuba's land is comprised of mountains and hills. The island is home to three main mountain regions. In the western part, the Cordillera de Guaniguanico is divided into the Sierra de los Organos and the Sierra del Rosario. The former showcases distinct limestone formations known as "mogotes," which are steep-sided mountains with flat tops. In the central part of the country lies the Escambray mountains, of medium height, reaching up to 1140 meters.

Over in the eastern part, one can find Cuba's highest mountains in the Sierra Maestra, including Pico Turquino, which stands at 1974 meters. These mountains have a different geological history, with some rocks having formed around 50 million years ago during volcanic activity. The Sierra Maestra area is also rich in mineral deposits, with nickel mining near Moa being the third largest source of foreign currency earnings for the country, following tourism and sugar.