The Morphology
Cuba is an island located between the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north are the United States and the Bahamas, to the west Mexico, to the south the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, and to the southeast Haiti.
The Cuban territory is mostly flat; only one-fifth of the territory is mountainous. The most important mountainous areas are formed by the Sierra Maestra, La Cordillera de Guaniguanico, which stretches from southwest to northeast, Sierra de los Órganos, and the Sierra del Rosario.
Much of central-western Cuba is dotted with spectacular hills covered with vegetation, called Mogotes. Among the most famous are the Mogotes de Jumagua, limestone formations covered with vegetation.
These pinnacles are of upper Cretaceous age (between 65 and 100 million years ago), fused together, presenting huge caves. These formations have great scientific interest due to the huge concentration of flora and fauna in a relatively small area.
The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that extends in the southeastern part of Cuba, especially in the provinces of Granma and Santiago de Cuba. It is the highest mountainous area of Cuba, with the top of Pico Turquino (1974 m). This area is mainly rich in minerals, especially copper, manganese, chromium, and iron.
The Cuban territory offers a wide coastal area with a variety of seascapes, from the rocky coast, with heights and cliffs, to the expanses of golden beaches. The reef extends outside the Camagüey archipelago. The coasts also have deep and sometimes branched bays, home to Cuba’s historic commercial ports such as Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Cienfuegos.
Cuban rivers are generally short, with little flow; of the nearly 600 rivers and streams, two-fifths discharge to the north, the rest to the south. However, they are rich in water, a quantity determined by the rains: some have underground sections due to the karst conformation of the territory. The longest is the Rio Cauto (343 km).
The complex Cuban topography and geology have made most of the soil fertile and cultivated throughout the year. The fertile red limestone soil stretches from west Havana to Cienfuegos on the southern coast and is located in large areas in the western province of Camagüey, providing the basis for the country’s main agricultural production.
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The Climate
Cuba is located in the tropics. It is located in the southwestern zone of other atmospheric pressure of the North Atlantic. This causes its climate to be characterized by the presence of trade winds from the northeast in winter and from the northeast winds in summer.
The average annual temperatures are around 26ºC. The tropical climate has two seasons: the dry winter period (November to April) and the wet summer period (May to October) characterized by the rainy period. The presence of the Gulf Stream has a mitigating effect on the climate and contributes to the maintenance of the water temperature on average around 26 ºC in winter and 28 ºC in summer.
From June to November, the country is often exposed to hurricanes. These can vary in extension between 150 and 600 km. They can develop winds of exceptional strength (up to 300 km/h). These factors combined with torrential rains regularly cause problems for the population.
Flora and Fauna
The Cuban tropical flora includes thousands of species of flowering plants, many of which are endemic to the archipelago.
Among the native trees is the Ceiba tree (kapok). The very rare cork palms (Microcycas calocoma) of the western regions are “living fossils”, which are believed to have existed for more than 100 million years.
The royal palm is the national tree and a characteristic feature of the landscape.
The national flower of Cuba is the Mariposa (“butterfly”; Hedychium coronarium Koenig), whose long green stems grow up to 1.5 m tall and produce fragrant, white, butterfly-shaped petals.
The fauna is abundant and varied, it is the habitat of numerous small mammals and reptiles, more than 7,000 species of insects and 4,000 species of terrestrial, river and marine molluscs.
There are more than 500 species of fish and numerous types of sharks. Freshwater fish are less abundant.
About 300 species of birds are found on the island, many of them migratory. The endemic tocororo (Trogon temnurus, or Priotelus temnurus), has been designated the national bird of Cuba because its bright plumes of red, white and blue correspond to the colors of the flag.
Reptiles are evenly distributed among marine, river and land species. Marshes contain two types of rare crocodiles. Terrestrial reptiles include the iguana and the Majà de Santa Maria, the largest of the Cuban snakes, none of which are poisonous.
Different types of bats prey on mosquitoes and insects harmful to agriculture, and in their caves bats leave excrement (guano) used as fertilizer.
