The Bay of Buena Vista ( es, Bahía de Buena Vista) is a bay on

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

's northern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

shore. It is located in the northern part of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Sancti Spíritus Sancti Spíritus () is a municipality and capital city of the province of Sancti Spíritus Province, Sancti Spíritus in central Cuba and one of the oldest Cuban European settlements. Sancti Spíritus is the genitive case of Latin language, Lat ...

, Villa Clara and Ciego de Ávila, between mainland Cuba and the archipelago that lines its northern coast.

Overview

The many

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

s that define the bay's northern limits include Cayo Francés, Cayo Fragoso and Cayo Santa Maria of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago, and past them, the bay opens in the Nicholas Channel to the north-west and in the Old Bahamas Channel to the north-east. The southern edge lies in the municipalities of Caibarién, Yaguajay, Chambas and Morón as well as the Bay of Dogs (Bahia Perros). To the east it is bordered by Cayo Coco and

Cayo Guillermo Cayo Guillermo is a cay of the Jardines del Rey archipelago. It is located on the northern coast of Cuba, between the Bay of Dogs (''Bahia de Perros'') and the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Ciego de Ávila Province, and lies in the Morón mun ...

of the

Jardines del Rey Jardines del Rey ( en, Gardens of the King) is an archipelago off the northern coast of Cuba, in the northern parts of the provinces of Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey. Overview Jardines del Rey developed on the coral reef system that lines Cuba's ...

archipelago and the Bay of Jiguey.

Conservation

Caguanes National Park Caguanes National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Caguanes) is a national park in Cuba. It is located in the Yaguajay municipality in the northern part of Sancti Spíritus Province, on the northern (atlantic) coast of Cuba. It is established around ...

is established on the southern shore. The bay itself is a

Biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and a

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

site. The strictly protected area extends for into the bay. Other ecological reserves are established on Cayo Francés, Cayo Santa María, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Coco, while a fauna reserve is set up on Cayo Las Loras. Buffer zones are established in the form of further protected areas in Jobo Rosado and Boquerones on the mainland. The cays contain more than 20

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species.

References

External links

All you need to know about Cayo Santa Maria
Bays of Cuba Estuaries of North America Geography of Ciego de Ávila Province Geography of Sancti Spíritus Province Geography of Villa Clara Province Biosphere reserves of Cuba Ramsar sites in Cuba {{Cuba-geo-stub