|
 Cuba
is a fun place to visit and tourists are being
attracted for many reasons. It might be simply that cheap
packages are on offer and it is a good place to get some
Caribbean sun and sand, or maybe it is for a more
political reason – to go before Castro dies. Some are
attracted by the music, the colonial architecture, the
landscape, the bird watching, or the scuba diving. Even
those famous fifties cars have many admirers. Whatever the
reason, no one will leave the island without being
affected by the pulsating rhythms of the music and dance,
the racial mixture which has produced such creativity and
exuberance in the arts and entertainment, without being
diverted into advertising billboards and neon lights. And
of course, you haven’t lived until you’ve learnt to
dance the rumba.
The
island of Cuba, 1,250 kilometers long, 191 kilometers at
its widest point, is the largest of the Caribbean islands
and only 145 kilometers south of Florida. The name is
believed to derive from the Arawak word ‘Cuban can',
meaning central. Gifted with a moderate climate, afflicted
only occasionally by hurricanes, not cursed by frosts,
blessed by an ample and well distributed rainfall and
excellent soils, it has traditionally been one of the
largest exporters of cane sugar in the world.
Geologically
at least, Cuba is part of North America; the boundary
between the North American and Caribbean plates runs
east-west under the Caribbean Sea to the south of the
island. Along the plate margin is a deep underwater rift
valley, which runs between Cuba and Jamaica. This feature
is quite close to the Cuban coast to the south of the
Sierra Maestra, with water plunging to 6,000 meters deep
only a few miles offshore.
The
northern coastline is gradually emerging from the sea. Old
coral reefs have been brought to the surface, so that much
of the northern coast consists of coral limestone cliffs
and sandy beaches. By contrast the southern coastline is
being gradually submerged, producing wetlands and
mangroves, with fewer sandy beaches than the north of the
island. Limestone's of various types cover about
two-thirds of the island. In most areas, there is a flat
or gently rolling landscape.
There
are three main mountain areas in the island. In the west,
the Cordillera de Guaniguanico is divided into the Sierra
del los Organos in the west, with thick deposits of
limestone which have developed a distinctive landscape of
steep-sided flat-topped mountains; and the Sierra del
Rosario in the east, made up partly of limestone's and
partly of lavas and other igneous rocks. Another
mountainous area in central Cuba includes the Escambray
mountains north of Trinidad, a double dome structure made
up of igneous and metamorphic rocks, including marble.
The
Sierra Maestra in east Cuba has Cuba’s highest
mountains, rising to Pico Turquino (1,974 meters) and a
rather different geological history, with some rocks
formed in an arc of volcanic activity around 50 million
years ago. Older rocks include marble, and other
metamorphic. Important mineral deposits are in this area;
nickel is mined near Moa.
Click
here to go to Cuba Web site. |
