The Bay of Jorge Cárdenas ( es, Bahía de Cárdenas) is a shallow 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 shore, in the

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

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

Overview

It is located on the Cuban coast, facing the

Nicholas Channel Nicholas Channel (also '' Saint Nicholas Channel''; es, Canal de Nicolas or Canal de San Nicolas) is a strait off the northeastern coast of Cuba. It lies east of Havana. It separates Cuba from the most southwestern of the islands of the Bahama ...

, and is delimited to the north by the

Hicacos Peninsula The Hicacos Peninsula ( es, Península de Hicacos) is a peninsula on Cuba's northern shore, in the province of Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is located on the peninsula. The name comes from a species of cactus. Geography It is located be ...

. To the north-east it is flanked by

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 of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago, such as Cayo Cruz del Padre, Cayo Galindo and Cayo Cinco Leguas. To the south-east it is bordered by the coastal wetlands and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s of Martí as well as the

Bay of Santa Clara The Bay of Santa Clara 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. C ...

. The port and the city of Cárdenas are located on the south-eastern shore. The bay has a total area of more than . An artificial navigation channel (Kawama Channel) connects the bay to the

Straits of Florida The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between th ...

south of the town of

Varadero Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach was rated one of the world's best beaches in ...

. Other than the industrial port of Cardenas, other

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

s lining the bay are located at Siguapa and Júcaro. The waters of the bay are also used for fishing

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

. On the southern shore, a combination of cays (Cayo Cupey) and causeways is used for

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

extraction. The bay was the stage of the Battle of Cárdenas on May 11, 1898, during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bay of Cardenas Cardenas Cárdenas, Cuba Geography of Matanzas Province