Area rank 104th Width 191 km (118.7 mi) Highest elevation 1,974 m (6,476 ft) Area 109,884 km² Continent North America | Length 1,250 km (777 mi) Coastline 5,746 km (3,570.4 mi) Highest point Pico Turquino Elevation 2,005 m Largest city Havana | |
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Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Cuba has an official area (land area) of 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi). Its area is 110,860 km2 (42,800 sq mi) including coastal and territorial waters. The main island (Cuba) has 5,746 km (3,570 mi) of coastline and 28.5 km (17.7 mi) of land borders — all figures including the United States territory at Guantánamo Bay, where the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located.
Contents
- Map of Cuba
- Physical geography
- Terrain
- Maritime claims
- Extreme points
- Administrative subdivisions
- References
Map of Cuba
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 104,556 km2 (40,369 sq mi).
The island is 1,250 km (780 mi) long and 191 km (119 mi) across its widest points and 31 km (19 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 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi).
Physical geography
Cuba is located 77 km (48 mi) west of Haiti across the Windward Passage, 21 km (13 mi) south of the Bahamas, 150 km (93 mi) south of Florida, 210 km (130 mi) east of Mexico, and 140 km (87 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 Bahama 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. The Colorados Archipelago is developed on the north-western coast.
Terrain
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 1,974 m (6,476 ft), part of the Sierra Maestra mountain range, located in the southeast of the island.
Other 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 (most notably in Varadero), as well as mangroves and marshes can be found in the coastal area. The largest is the Zapata Swamp, with over 4,520 km2 (1,750 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.
Maritime claims
Cuba makes maritime claims that include a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) and an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi).
Extreme points
Extreme points in Cuba are:
Administrative subdivisions
Cuba is divided into 15 Provinces and one special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). The provinces are further subdivided into level 3 subdivisions, called municipalities (Spanish: Municipios), of which there are 168 following the 2010 administrative redistribution.