Guaniguanico, also known as Cordillera de Guaniguanico, is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

of western

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 ...

that spans from the centre-west of

Pinar del Río Province Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. Geography The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guanig ...

to the western area of

Artemisa Province Artemisa Province is one of the two new provinces created from the former La Habana Province, whose creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly on August 1, 2010, the other being Mayabeque Province. The new provinces came into existence ...

. It is formed by the subranges of

Sierra del Rosario Sierra del Rosario is a mountain range in the provinces of Pinar del Río Province, Pinar del Río and Artemisa Province, Artemisa, western Cuba. It is located in the eastern part of the Guaniguanico range and, along with the Sierra de los Órgano ...

and

Sierra de los Órganos Sierra de los Órganos () is a mountain range in the province of Pinar del Río, western Cuba. Along with the Sierra del Rosario, it is part of the Guaniguanico mountain range. Geography The ''Sierra'' is the western part of Guaniguanico and sp ...

Etymology

Granberry and Vescelius (2004) suggest a

Guanahatabey The Guanahatabey (also spelled Guanajatabey) were an indigenous people of western Cuba at the time of European contact. Archaeological and historical studies suggest the Guanahatabey were archaic hunter-gatherers with a distinct language and cu ...

etymology for the name ''Guaniguanico'', comparing it with ''wani-wani-ku'' 'hidden moon, moon-set' in the purportedly related

Warao language Warao (also known as Guarauno, Guarao, Warrau) is the native language of the Warao people. A language isolate, it is spoken by about 33,000 people primarily in northern Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname. It is notable for its unusual object–subje ...

of the

Orinoco Delta The Orinoco Delta is a vast river delta of the Orinoco River, located in eastern Venezuela. Location The Orinoco Delta is one of the eight natural regions of Venezuela. It covers the whole of Delta Amacuro State and a few square kilometers of M ...

Geography

The ''

cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly u ...

'' spans for a length of circa 160 km, from the town

Guane Guane is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1602. Geography The municipality is divided into the barrios of Cabo de San Antonio y La Fe, Catalina, Cortés, Hato de Guane, Isabel Rubio (Paso Real d ...

, in the west of Pinar del Río Province, to the Alturas de Mariel, near Mariel, Artemisa Province. The two subranges composing it, Sierra de los Órganos (west) and Sierra del Rosario (east), are divided in the middle by the

San Diego River The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. It originates in the Cuyamaca Mountains northwest of the town of Julian, then flows to the southwest until it reaches the El Capitan Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the river's ...

(''Río San Diego''). The highest peak is the

Pan de Guajaibón Pan de Guajaibón is a mountain in the Guaniguanico range of western Cuba. It has two peaks, the highest of which is 699 metres above sea level. It is the highest mountain in the Guaniguanico range. A bust of Antonio Maceo Grajales is situated a ...

(699 m), located between the municipalities of Bahía Honda and

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

. It represents a symbol of western Cuba.

Landmarks

The Guaniguanico includes the

Viñales Valley Viñales Valley ( es, Valle de Viñales) is a karstic depression in Cuba. The valley has an area of and is located in the Sierra de los Órganos mountains (part of Guaniguanico range), just north of Viñales in the Pinar del Río Province. In ...

,"Viñales National Park on the Guaniguanico Mountain Range" (Cuba Naturaleza website)
/ref> a natural reserve and

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

; and other landmarks as the waterfalls of

Salto de Soroa Saltomay refer to: Places Settlements * Salto, Buenos Aires, Argentina ** Salto Partido, a provincial subdivision * Salto, São Paulo, Brazil * Salto, Cape Verde * Salto, Cidra, Puerto Rico * Salto, San Sebastián, Puerto Rico * Salto, Portug ...

, the nature reserve of

Las Terrazas Las Terrazas is a small community and nature reserve in the municipality of Candelaria, Artemisa Province, Cuba. It is located in the Sierra del Rosario mountains (part of Guaniguanico range), which was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO ...

, and the protected area of Mil Cumbres. File:Soroa1.jpg, Salto de Soroa waterfall File:LasTerrazas.jpg, Las Terrazas natural reserve

References

External links

{{Mountain ranges of Cuba Mountain ranges of Cuba Geography of Pinar del Río Province Geography of Artemisa Province

Etymology

Geography

Landmarks

See also

References

External links