Guanahacabibes Peninsula is the westernmost point on the island of

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 Caribb ...

. It is located in Pinar del Río Province, in the municipality of Sandino and is sparsely populated. The waters surrounding the

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

are important

spiny lobster Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, So ...

and red snapper fishing grounds. It also boasts the category of ''

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 ...

'', listed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

in 1987. Its western extremity, Cape San Antonio ( es, Cabo San Antonio), is the westernmost point of Cuba.

Overview

Its location in the open waters of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

makes it vulnerable to hurricanes. The area was severely affected by

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlant ...

in 2004 and

Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was an extremely intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane which was the most intense storm of its kind and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part o ...

in 2005. Guanahacabibes was the site of Cuba's first forced labor camp, started at the end of 1960.

Conservation

The Guanahacabibes National Park on the peninsula is one of the country's largest natural reserves and is separated from the rest of the island by white-sand plains where one of Cuba's largest lakeside areas lies. A relatively small area holds some 100 lakes, as well as the largest and purest fields of silica sand, which is 99.8% pure. Nature tourism is a major attraction in the National Park. The area is inhabited by 172 species of birds belonging to 42 families, 11 of which are endemic and 84 are migratory. Experts also believe that 4 of the 7 species of marine

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

s living on the planet have survived in the Guanahacabibes Peninsula. The coastline also contains preserved

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

, with the northern coast being lined by the

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 and isles of the western

Colorados Archipelago The Colorados Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de los Colorados, also called ''Archipiélago de Santa Isabel'' and ''Archipiélago de Guaniguanico'') is a chain of isles and cays on Cuba's north-western coast. The sea surrounding the islands is u ...

. The area in the southwestern plain shows a considerable development of the karst structures that limits the existence of superficial waters but permits the ingression of the surrounding seawater. In Bottlenose dolphins can be found in the waters as well.Parque Nacional Guanahacabibes
(pdf). Retrieved on September 01, 2017 The peninsula was one of the last refuges of aboriginals fleeing from the

Spanish conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...

and also holds some 140 archeological sites linked to the life of aborigines, who were known as

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 ...

es.

References

External links

* Espinosa J., Ortea J., Sánchez R. & Gutiérrez J. (2012)
''Moluscos marinos Reserva de la Biosfera de la Península de Guanahacabibes''
Instituto de Oceanología, Havana, 325 pp. . Biosphere reserves of Cuba National parks of Cuba Peninsulas of Cuba Sandino, Cuba Geography of Pinar del Río Province Protected areas established in 1987 Tourist attractions in Pinar del Río Province {{Cuba-geo-stub

Overview

Conservation

See also

References

External links