General geographic presentation
Cuba is the seventh-largest island in the world and the largest in the entire Caribbean. The Tropic of Cancer touches it to the north, and it enjoys an interesting geographical location. Cuba is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Its neighbors include Haiti, whose coastline lies 77 km to the east, and whose silhouette is clearly visible on a clear day. Drawing a line 140 km to the south, we find Jamaica. To the west, the first land to be encountered is Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, 210 km away, while to the north, 145 km from the Cuban coastline, stretches Florida.
As for Cuba's surface area, Cuban teachers usually tell schoolchildren that it is 111,111 km², when in fact it is 110,922 km². By way of comparison, Portugal's surface area is 92,212 km². In addition to the main island, there are some 3,715 km² of islands and islets ( cayos, of which there are some 1,600), known as Canarreos, Colorados, Jardines del Rey and Jardines de la Reina. The Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth, formerly Isle of Pines), Turiguanó Island and Cayo Romano are the largest of these islands. In terms of dimensions, Cuba measures 1,250 km at its longest (from Cabo San Antonio in the west to Punta de Maisí in the east) and 32 km at its narrowest (191 km at its widest). In all, the island boasts 3,735 km of coastline, ranging from beaches and marshy lowlands to steep, rocky cliffs.
Cuban Relief
Around two-thirds of the territory is covered by savannah. The remaining third is made up of mountain ranges.
Among these, the Sierra Maestra (south-east) is one of the most famous, due to its role in Cuban history. From Coaba to the US base at Guantánamo, it stretches 240 km long and 30 km wide, and is home to Cuba's second-largest city - Santiago de Cuba - as well as a myriad of small towns and villages. Here, Pico Turquino dominates, towering 1,972 m above sea level. From here, the mountains slope down to the Caribbean Sea in the south, while in the north they gradually soften to the Río Cauto - the island's most important river - and finally disintegrate into the Manzanillo swamps. Not far from Santiago, around Cerro de la Cantera, lies the area known as del Cobre, dominated by Gran Piedra, an imposing rock culminating at 1,214 m. This part of the Sierra Maestra is rich in copper, nickel and other minerals. Mines abound. Although the region is not volcanic, earthquakes are not uncommon.
Other Cuban mountainous areas include the eastern Sierra del Cristal, dominated by Pico del Cristal (1,231 m), which lies to the north of the extreme tip of the island. In the same region, the Baracoa, Nicaro and Nipe sierras surround one of the world's largest nickel deposits: Moa. In the center of the island, on the southern slopes, we find the Sierra del Escambray, home to the Guamuhaya massif and the San Juan peak. This chain, riddled with lakes, rivers and caves, is actually made up of two mountain ranges, Sancti Spiritus and Trinidad. At the foot of the latter lies the town of the same name, famous for its colonial charm.
The smaller Sierra de los Órganos and Sierra del Rosario (maximum altitude 728 m) are located in the extreme west of the territory. The former features astonishing geographical formations: prehistoric caves and mogotes (rounded limestone hills), the Viñales mogotes being the most remarkable. These main massifs are complemented by more modest hill ranges such as the Sierra de Cubitas (Camagüey province) and the Bejucal-Madruga-Limonar heights (Havana province).
As for the two non-mountainous thirds , plains and valleys predominate. Since the arrival of the conquistadors, both sugar cane (entire forests have been cleared for this intense cultivation) and tobacco have been grown here unabated. While these two commodities have made Cuba famous, the island's landscapes are also lush with vegetable and fruit crops and, although drought is tending to take its toll on animal husbandry, farms are still plentiful. Higher up, particularly in the mountains of the east and center of the island, coffee crops occupy large swathes of land. Last but not least, we should mention the very low-lying and marshy areas of Cuba, located mainly in part of the south coast of Matanzas (Zapata peninsula) and in the area between Trinidad and Manzanillo. Lagoons and artificial lakes used for irrigation are numerous here, especially around Guanahacabibes. The largest lagoons are La Leche (north of Ciego de Ávila province) and Ariguanabo (west of Havana province).
Coastline, rivers and seabed
Cuba's incredible geological diversity has given rise to a coastal landscape that is no less breathtaking. In the 19th century, an English traveller compared the panorama offered by the Sierra Maestra coastline facing Jamaica to the Italian Riviera of Genoa. Generally speaking, two types of coastal landscape share the limelight in Cuba: those lined with wave-polished stones known as diente de perro (dog tooth), and those of fine sand. In addition, a multitude of bays, large and small, whose shape is reminiscent of a bottle neck(bolsas, as the Cubans say), follow one another along the coastline. From east to west, they are Nipe, Nuevitas, Matanzas, Havana and Mariel on the north coast; Guantánamo, Santiago (these two are by far the largest), Casilda, Cienfuegos and Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the south coast.
On the white-water front, Cuba is criss-crossed by no fewer than 200 rivers. However, due to the island's particular shape, they are short (40 km long maximum for the vast majority of rivers) and, because of the relief, flow either in a north-south or south-north direction. Two rivers stand out, however, both for their slightly more fanciful itinerary and for their size. The río Cauto is 370 km long, while the río Sagua la Grande is 163 km long. Cuba also boasts a dense network of underground rivers, a vast reservoir of fresh water. Last but not least, the abrupt relief of certain regions of the country is the source of sumptuous waterfalls, with the río Hanabanilla (Sancti Spíritus province) leading the way!
Let's now turn our attention to Cuba's unique maritime features. Some particularly remarkable sites have been sculpted by the combined action of winds, currents, tides and seismic movements: El Paso de los Vientos, between Cuba and Haiti; The Old Bahamas Channel, along the north coast; the Yucatán Strait, between the Guanahacahibes Peninsula and Mexico; and also the Florida Strait, between Havana and Miami... As for the seabed, the waters along the south coast conceal underwater trenches sinking extremely deep into the ground. The Bartlett Fosa, 60 km south of the Sierra Maestra, is one of the deepest in the world: an abyss 7,243 metres deep! For the rest, the island platform surrounding Cuba is 100 to 200 meters deep. From the cayos, the islets that form a chain around Cuba, you can see foamy bangs in the distance, at varying distances from the coast, betraying the presence of coral reefs. The reef off Camagüey, for example, is the second largest in the world after the Australian barrier reef, measuring 400 km in length!
Cuban cayos
Cayos refer to the 1,600 or so islands and islets scattered around Cuba over an area covering 3,715 km², i.e. an area larger than Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and Saint-Martin combined. The word itself, cayo, is a translation of the Anglo-American word key, mainly used in Florida to designate islets. Generally quiet and very well preserved, with little or no construction, the vast majority of these lands are home to superb landscapes. As the sea is shallow around the cayos (10 to 20 m), an airplane flight over them is a sight to behold: turquoise blue cameos and crystal-clear waters revealing schools of coral are worth the flight! While the tourism industry has not missed out on these little paradises, in most cases a balance has been struck between respect for the environment and economic profitability. These cayos are grouped into four archipelagos.
Archipelago of los Canarreos. Located in the province of Havana and comprising no fewer than 350 islands and islets, this is one of the largest of the Cuban archipelagos. It stretches from the tip of Camagatos (in the province of Pinar del Río) to the edge of the Bay of Pigs. While crabs and sea turtles abound, it's the lobster that's king here! Some 2,000 tons are caught each year and canned in Nueva Gerona, capital of the Isla de la Juventud.
Archipelago de los Colorados. This archipelago lies between a 200 km-long coral reef and the northern coast of Pinar del Río province. Although it is the smallest Cuban archipelago in terms of number of islands, it is no less sumptuous. The most famous cayos here are Arenas, Diego Rapada, Ines de Soto, Jutías and Buenavista, as well as the Sancho Pardo sandbar. Fish and shellfish lovers, you've come to the right place!
Archipelago de los Jardines del Rey. This archipelago lies some 15 km off the coast of Camagüey province and comprises some 400 islands and islets stretching over 400 km from the Hicacos peninsula to the tip of Práctica. A coral reef of the same length borders the archipelago to the north (the second largest in the world after Australia's). Moving from west to east, the cayos gradually increase in size, becoming true islands around Morón. These are the islands of Turiguano, Cayo Romano, Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Coco, Guajaba and Norte.
Archipelago of los Jardines de la Reina. The fourth and final grouping of Cuban islands and cayos can be found in the Gulf of Guacanayabo. Named by Christopher Columbus in homage to the Spanish queen, Isabella the Catholic, it is home to some sensational islands: Gran Bajo de Buena Esperanza, Laberinto de las Doce Leguas, Caballones Grande and Cinco Balas. Wild beauty!
