The Zapata Swamp ( es, Ciénaga de Zapata, ) is located on the

Zapata Peninsula Zapata Peninsula ( es, Península de Zapata) is a large peninsula in Matanzas Province, southern Cuba, at . Ciénaga de Zapata National Park is located on the peninsula. It is located south of Ensenada de la Broa, east of the gulf of Batabano an ...

in the southern

Matanzas Province Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, ...

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 ...

, in the municipality of Ciénaga de Zapata. It is located less than southeast of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Species and preservation

Within the Zapata Swamp are over 900

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ...

plant species, 175 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles and over 1000 species of

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

. Some of the most notable are local endemics to Cuba; for birds, it includes the

Zapata wren The Zapata wren (''Ferminia cerverai'') is a medium-sized grayish-brown bird that lives in dense shrubs of the Zapata Swamp, Cuba. It is the only member of the monotypical genus ''Ferminia'', which is endemic to Cuba and endangered. This specie ...

Zapata rail The Zapata rail (''Cyanolimnas cerverai'') is a medium-sized, dark-coloured rail, the only member of the monotypic genus ''Cyanolimnas''. It has brown upperparts, greyish-blue underparts, a red-based yellow bill, white undertail coverts, and re ...

, and the

Zapata sparrow The Zapata sparrow (''Torreornis inexpectata'') is a medium-sized grey and yellow bird that lives in the grasslands of the Zapata Swamp and elsewhere on the island of Cuba. Measuring about in length, it is grey and yellow overall with a dark red ...

. The Zapata Swamp is also a particular habitat of the

bee hummingbird The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird (''Mellisuga helenae'') is a species of hummingbird, native to the island of Cuba in the Caribbean. It is the world's smallest bird. Description The bee hummingbird is the smallest living ...

, the smallest bird species on the planet. The Zapata Swamp is also visited by 65 species of birds during their

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

pattern from North America through the Caribbean to South America. Zapata is also known for the local endemic

Cuban crocodile The Cuban crocodile (''Crocodylus rhombifer'') is a small-medium species of crocodile endemic to Cuba. Typical length is and typical weight . Large males can reach as much as in length and weigh more than . Despite its smaller size, it is a hig ...

''(Crocodylus rhombifer)'' which are restricted to the Zapata Swamp and are being reintroduced to the nearby Lanier Swamp on the

Isle of Youth Isla de la Juventud (; en, Isle of Youth) is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba itself, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Isla ...

( es, Isla de la Juventud). The

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

American crocodile The American crocodile (''Crocodylus acutus'') is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts ...

(''Crocodylus acutus'') also occurs within the Zapata Swamp, and hybridisation between the two species takes place, confirmed by the existence of a Cuban-American hybrid which was found on the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

after migrating from the swamp. Ciénaga de Zapata

Within the Zapata Swamp are numerous areas designated for

environmental preservation Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health se ...

, such as Zapata Swamp Natural Reserve and Las Salinas

wildlife sanctuary 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 o ...

, which is part of the larger Ciénaga de Zapata Biosphere Reserve ( IUCN category VI) which in total is over 6,000 km² and the largest protected area, not only in Cuba, but also the Caribbean. The swamp is not only known for its size but also for being the best preserved wetlands in all of the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

, designated as a "Wetland of International Importance" by the

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

in 1971. In mid-2001 an additional 4,520 km² were declared a Ramsar Site in mid-2001.

Geography

The Zapata Swamp lies between 22°01’ and 22°40’ N

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

and between 80°33’ and 82°09’ W

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

. The swamp in total is over one million

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s (4,000 km²). Topographically, the maximum height above sea level is only about 10 meters with the top depth in below-sea-level coastal zones as follows: 2 meters in the

salt-marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

area and from 1–600 meters in the sea coastal zone. Between May and October, the warmest season of the year, average temperature is . Between November and April, the coldest season of the year, the temperature on average is .

Gallery

File:red flamingos.JPG, American flamingos in Zapata File:In crocodile farm.JPG, Crocodile farm in Zapata File:Dendroica petechia -Parque Nacional Cienaga de Zapata, Matanzas Province, Cuba-8 (2).jpg, A Yellow Warbler in Zapata File:Cuban Brown Curlytail (Leiocephalus cubensis) (8591588491).jpg, Cuban Brown Curlytail in Zapata File:Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) (8592688568).jpg, Northern Mockingbird in Zapata File:Eastern Giant Toad (Peltophryne peltocephala) (8575065260).jpg, Eastern Giant Toad

References

Sources

External links