Cuba is an amazing sultry country with beautiful beaches and tropical forests. This is a real paradise! The most wonderful island nation in the Caribbean. The coast of Cuba is surrounded by clear blue waters, on the shallows of which coral reefs have long since settled, which have given shelter to thousands of marine life.
The streets of the cities are bathed in sunshine and immersed in tropical greenery, which surrounds architectural masterpieces. On the squares you can easily meet Cubans dancing passionate Latina or salsa, and on holidays you can see bright carnivals.
Once having seen the diversity of nature in Cuba, it is simply impossible not to fall in love with it! And how can you forget all her charm:
- shady jungle decorated with exotic fruits;
- colorful plains with a scattering of small bright houses;
- hills and mountains covered with green forests.
In order for you to understand how beautiful the nature of Cuba is, photos will certainly be provided in this article. And you will understand that it is worth visiting at least once in a lifetime!
Geographic data
The Republic of Cuba lies in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, just between South America and the United States, and is considered the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Cuban Republic includes the following islands:
- Huventood;
- Cuba;
- Cayo Fragoso;
- Coco
- Kuahaba;
- Camaguey;
- San Felipe
- Largo del Sur.
Also in its composition there are archipelagos:
- Sabana
- Los Colorados;
- Jardines de la Reina.
In total, the republic has about 1600 islands, large and small. The main and largest of them is Cuba.
Since the coastline is quite large (5745 km!), The country has a little more than three hundred beaches, with fascinating fabulous scenery.
In addition, the island of Cuba is dotted with rocky cliffs and bays, as well as mangrove swamps and coral reefs.
The country is adjacent to islands such as Jamaica and Haiti, as well as Florida from the United States and Mexico from South America.
The capital of the republic is the city of Havana, famous for the production of the highest quality cigars in the world. Time zone Moscow time +8.
Significant objects of the island of Cuba
- Bays: Buena Vista, Cochinos.
- Bays: Anna Maria, Guantanamo, Guacanayabo, Santa Clara, Batabano.
In addition, the Zapata Peninsula and Cape Cruz, which is the southernmost point of Cuba, are of great importance.
Climatic features
Tropical Cuba has only two distinct seasons:
- The rainy season (from May to October).
- Dry season (from November to April).
The air is characterized by high humidity, which lasts for all 12 months, and the sea breeze brings a pleasant coolness to the coastline, which is especially felt after sunset. After the heat of the day, this is exactly what you need.
Water resources
On the island of Cuba, there are quite a few small rivers and streams, of which there are about 600 in total. Some of them flow into the Caribbean Sea and form a wetland right on the shore. The largest of the swamps is Zapata, which is considered a conservation area.
Description of the nature of Cuba
On the territory of the country there are many plains, but the mountains occupy only a third of its part. The Sierra Maestra is considered the highest mountain range, stretching along the perimeter of the southeast coast for 250 km. The highest point of Cuba is Turkino peak, which rises 1974 meters above sea level.
The most interesting of the freshwater lakes can be called Laguna de Leche, the bottom of which is covered with chalk deposits, during the tides turning water into fresh milk.
This country can rightly be called a paradise on earth, as it literally drowns in fragrant tropical flowers growing in the shade of trees decorated with exotic fruits. In total, there are more than 3, 000 representatives of the flora. Once in the pre-colonization times, forests covered almost the entire territory of Cuba, leaving only 10% for the rest. But with the advent of foreign invaders, the area of the forest area sharply decreased to 14%. It is no coincidence that the royal palm tree is present on the Cuban coat of arms, since it was she who survived on the plains.
In the 60s of the last century, people finally thought better of it and began to actively work on the restoration of forest plots, thanks to which 30% of the entire territory is covered with vegetation today.
Among the variety of species in Cuba can be found:
- guaiac wood;
- Red tree;
- zestrel;
- logwood.
All of them grow on the plains and low hills. In addition, pine forests can be seen in more arid parts of the country (such as Hutenwood Island). But the real pearl of the tropics is a palm tree called the beautiful-crowned microcycas (Microcycas Calocoma), the existence of which has been known for more than a hundred million years, and you can admire it in the province of Pinar del Rio.
Sailing along the river waters of Haguani, Toa or Duaba, you can see multi-tiered rainforests called gileas, which make up ficus, guiana and Karap guards. The tier, as close as possible to the water, consists of palm trees and tree ferns.
The national Cuban pride is ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium), which reaches a height of about two meters, and its white flowers resemble large butterflies.
Animals of cuba
This paradise is inhabited by such birds as a pelican, gull, pigeon, hummingbird, heron, sparrow and carnivorous vulture.
There are also various reptiles, among which lizards stand out with a special variety.
Of the mammals, the Red Book crawfish, resembling a nosed badger, a hutia kong, similar to a large 50-centimeter rat, is of particular interest. But bats in Cuba live quite happily, since about 23 species are known that live in different parts of the country.
What is interesting on Liberty Island?
This paradise has amazing views of the nature of Cuba, and the most beautiful and famous of them can be called caves near the city of Matanzas. This city is located near Varadero, and it was made famous:
- Saturn Cave, which is famous for hiding an underground lake in its bowels, which has surprisingly clean and warm water.
- Belmayar cave, which was discovered back in the fifties of the 19th century by shepherds looking for a lost sheep. It is about 2.5-3 kilometers long, all ennobled by stalactites and stalagmites, whose age is at least 40, 000 years. In the bowels of the cave there is more than one karst lake framed by multicolor crystals.
