Cuba

Flag Proportion: 1:2

Capital: Havana

Language: Spanish

Currency: Peso

Continent: North America

Largest island of the West Indies, south of Florida of the United States and east of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. It forms, with various adjacent islands, the republic of Cuba. Cuba commands the two entrances to the Gulf of Mexico the Straits of Florida and the Yucatan Channel. On the east, Cuba is separated from the island of Hispaniola by the Windward Passage, a shipping route between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The United States maintains a naval base at Guantanamo Bay in the southeast. Havana is Cuba's capital and largest city.

The island extends about 1225 km (about 760 mi) from Cabo de San Antonio to Cabo Mais the western and eastern extremities, respectively. The average width is about 80 km (about 50 mi), with extremes ranging from 35 to 251 km (22 to 160 mi). The total area is 114,524 sq km (44,218 mi) including the area of the Isla de la Juventud, or Isle of Youth (formerly called Isle of Pines) and of other islands of the republic.

About one-fourth of the surface of Cuba is mountainous or hilly, the remainder consisting of flat or rolling terrain. The mountainous areas are scattered throughout the island and do not stem from a central mass. The principal ranges are the Sierra de los Iganos, in the west; the Sierra de Trinidad, in the central part of the island; and the Sierra Maestra, in the southeast. The first two ranges are under 914 m (3000 ft) in height; the Sierra Maestra, which includes the Sierra del Cobre and Macaca ranges, is the greatest in altitude, mass, and extent, and contains Pico Turquino (2000 m/ 6561 ft), the highest point in Cuba. Most of the soil of Cuba is relatively fertile.

One of the extraordinary natural features of the island is the large number of subsurface limestone caverns, notably the caves of Cotilla, situated near Havana. Most of the numerous rivers of Cuba are short and unnavigable. The chief stream is the Cauto, located in the southeast. The coast of Cuba is extremely irregular and is indented by numerous gulfs and bays; the total length is about 4025 km (about 2500 mi). The island has a large number of excellent harbors, the majority of which are almost entirely landlocked. Notable harbors are those of Havana, Cdenas, Baha Honda, Matanzas, and Nuevitas, on the northern coast, and Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad, on the southern coast.

The climate of Cuba is semitropical, the mean annual temperature being 25 C (77 F). Extremes of heat and relative humidity, which average 27.2 C (81 F) and 80 percent, respectively, during the summer season, are tempered by the prevailing northeastern trade winds. The annual rainfall averages about 1320 mm (about 52 in). More than 60 percent of the rain falls during the wet season, which extends from May to October. The island lies in a region occasionally traversed by violent tropical hurricanes during August, September, and October.

The land and climate of Cuba favor agriculture, and the country also has significant mineral reserves. Nickel, chrome, copper, iron, and manganese deposits are the most important. Sulfur, cobalt, pyrites, gypsum, asbestos, petroleum, salt, sand, clay, and limestone reserves are also exploited. All subsurface deposits are the property of the government.

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