Archive for the ‘Geography’ Category
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2. Guamauhaya Range, is located in the central area of the country occupying part of the counties of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara and it is compound for Sierra of Escambray and Sierra de Trinidad, with a total extension of about 4500 km². This mountain range is but well-known as Sierra of Escambray and it is strongly bound to the recent history of the country to be the main scenario of the fight against the Cuban Revolution until middle of the decade of the 60. |
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The altitude here are between the 300 and the 1100 meters being reached the maximum in Pico San Juan with 1140 meters over sea level. These mountains in general are covered with thick vegetation among which the trees of beautiful wood are plentiful and the relief is abrupt with straits valleys and abundant cascades and its southern skirt is escarped and it finishes very next to Caribbean Sea of which separates a narrow coastal plain. In short, a paradise for the ecoturism. |
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3. Sierra Maestra, located in the southeast of the island is the biggest and highest mountain range of Cuba, forms a bastion to the long thing and parallelly to the south coast from Cabo Cruz until Punta de Maisi with around 250 km of longitude and between 15 and 60 km of width. They conform it properly Sierra Maestra, Sierra Cristal in the neighbor of Punta de Maisi and Sierra of Nipe in their northeast portion. The altitude in this region are between 300 and 2000 meters being reached the biggest heights in the country: Pico Turquino with 1974 meters over sea level, Pico Cuba, 1872 meters and Pico Suecia, 1734 meters. |
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Sierra Maestra is the natural and most majestic scenario of the country, treare are several natural parks as Pico Turquino, Desembarco del Granma, Santo Domingo-La Sierrita y Marea del Portillo that makes it specially appropriate for the nature tourism. Sierra Maestra is also closely bound to the recent history of Cuba because was the scenario of the fight of Fidel Castro’s guerrillas against Fulgencio Batista dictatorship among final of 1956 and final of 1958. |
Mountain Ranges in Pinar del Rio
Cuba is mainly a flat country in the regions Westerner and central, around 75% of the surface of country is formed by plains that alternate with 3 mountain ranges located in the occident, center and east of the island. These plains are generally quite plane or lightly wavy, they have an altitude below 100 meters on the level of the sea and most population and economic activities redide here on the planes. Only naturally preserved planes are Cienaga de Zapata (Marsh of Zapata) in Matanzas, and Peninsule of Guanahacabibes, in Pinar del Rio.
The mountain ranges mentioned are three:
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Sierra of Guaniguanico, in Pinar del Rio province. It is formed by the Sierra of Organs in their western part and Sierra del Rosario in the oriental.The total longitude in the axis SW-NE is 150 km and a width between 10 and 30 km. Theare are a lot of beautifull landscapes and many tourist attractiveness.
Sierra de los Organos is conformed by slate-like heights of up to 400 meters of altitude and covered with pinegroves in a large part of their extension and mountains and mogotes of calcareous rock with heights between 200 and 500 meters and that alternate with interiors valleys many of them of great beauty like Viñales, worldwide well-known.
La Sierra del Rosario, has an altitude average between 300 and 700 meters, the maximum altitude is reached in Pan de Guajaibon with 702 meters and here alternating a vegetation of pinegroves and trees of leaves wide, included beautiful wood, with areas of grasses and coffee plantations. There are narrows canyons with very beautiful views among the mountains.Sierra del Rosario is a natural paradise with a lot of scenarios to natural and ecological tourism.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Natural resources include cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, and petroleum. At one time, the whole island was covered with forest and there are still many cedar, rosewood, mahogany, and other valuable trees. Large areas were cleared to grow more sugar cane, and so few trees remained that timber had to be imported.
Oil is extracted on Cuba’s northern shore, in the provinces of La Habana and Matanzas. The oil is of low quality, and used for energy generation only.
Sugar cane was the most important part of the economy in Cuba’s history, and is still grown on large areas. Extensive irrigation systems are developed in the south of
Extreme points
North (on-shore)
Name: Punta Hicacos
Location: 23°12′23″N 81°08′44″W / 23.20639, -81.14556
Remarks: On Hicacos Peninsula
North (off-shore)
Name: Cayo Cruz del Padre
Location: 23°16′34″N 80°54′38″W / 23.27611, -80.91056
Remarks: Part of Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago
East
Name: Punta Maisi
Location: 20°12′32″N 74°08′01″W / 20.20889, -74.13361
Remarks: Near Maisí
West siders
Name: Cape San Antonio
Location: 21°51′39″N 84°57′25″W / 21.86083, -84.95694
Remarks: On Guanahacabibes Peninsula
South siders
Name: Cape Cruz
Location: 19°49′37″N 77°40′30″W / 19.82694, -77.675
Remarks: Near Niquero
Highest point: Pico Turquino (1,975 m (6,480 ft))
Location: 19°59′22″N 76°50′09″W / 19.98944, -76.83583
Remarks: Part of Sierra Maestra,
Lowest point: Sea level (Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean)
Largest city: Havana
Location: 23°08′00″N 82°23′00″W / 23.133333, -82.383333
National capital, population 2,328,000
Oldest city: Baracoa
Location: 20°20′55″N 74°30′38″W / 20.34861, -74.51056
Founded in 1511
Terrain is mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast. The lowest point is the Caribbean Sea at 0 m (sea level) and the highest point is Pico Turquino at 2,005 m (6,578 ft), part of the Sierra Maestra mountain range, located in the southwest of the island. Other significant mountain ranges are Sierra Cristal in the southeast, Escambray Mountains in the center of the island, and Sierra del Rosario in the northwest. White sand beaches, as well as mangroves and marshes can be found in the coastal area. The largest is the Zapata Swamp, with over 4,520 km² (1,745 sq mi).
Cuba has negligible inland water area. The largest natural water mirror is Laguna de Leche at 67.2 km² (25.9 sq mi), while the man-made Zaza Reservoir, at 113.5 km² (43.8 sq mi), is the largest inland water surface by area in the country.
Cuba’s climate is tropical and moderated by trade winds. The dry season lasts from November to April and the rainy season from May to October. Cuba makes maritime claims that include a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22 km) and an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km).
Cuba is located 80 km (50 mi) west of Haiti across the Windward Passage, 140 km (87 mi) south of the Bahamas, 145 km (90 mi) south of Florida, 210 km (130 mi) east of Mexico, and 146 km (91 mi) north of Jamaica.
Cuba is the largest country by land area in the Caribbean. Its main island is the seventeenth-largest island in the world by land area. The island rises between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered on the north by the Straits of Florida, on the northeast by Nicholas Channel and the Old Bahamas Channel. The southern part is bounded by the Windward Passage and the Cayman Trench, while the southwest lies in the Caribbean Sea. To the west, it reaches to the Yucatan Channel, and the northwest is open to the Gulf of Mexico.
More than 4,000 islands and cays are found in the surrounding sea and bays. The southern coast includes such archipelagos as Jardines de la Reina and the Canarreos. The northeastern shore is lined by the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, which includes Jardines del Rey and is composed of approximately 2,517 cays and islands.[2] The Colorados Archipelago is developed
Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Cuba has a total land area of 110,860 km² (42,803.3 sq mi). It has 3,735 km (2,321 mi) of coastline and 2,9 km (1800 mi) of land borders — all figures including the United States at Guantanamo Bay where the U.S.Navy’s Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located.
Cuba lies west of the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Gulf of Mexico, south of the Straits of Florida, northwest of the Windward Passage, and northeast of the Yucatan Channel. The main island (Cuba) makes up most of the land area 105,006 km² (40,543 sq mi). The island is 1,199 km (745 mi) long and 200 km (124 mi) across its widest points and 35 km (22 mi) across its narrowest points. The largest island outside the main island is the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the southwest, with an area of 3,056 km² (1,179.9 sq mi).
Location: Caribbean Sea
Coordinates:
Archipelago: Greater Antilles
Area 110,860 km2 (42,800 sq mi)
Rank 17th
Length 1,199 km (745 mi)
Width 200 km (120 mi)
Coastline 3,735 km (2,321 mi)
Highest point: Pico Turquino (2,005 m (6,580 ft)
Country Largest city: Havana (2,400,000)
Demographics Population: 11,394,043 (as of 2007)
Density: 102.79 people/km²
Ethnic groups White: 65%, Mulatto / Mestizo: 24.86%, Black: 10.08%, Chinese: 1%
