Moa is a municipality and an industrial city in the Holguín Province 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 ...

. Its name is believed to mean "water here".

History

Moa, one of the youngest cities in Cuba, was founded in 1939. One of the most significant personalities linked to its foundation and growth was a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

n man, John Alexander Christie Duccas.

Geography

Located in the easternmost area of its province, at the borders with Guantánamo Province, Moa is bordered by the municipalities of Sagua de Tánamo, Frank País, Baracoa and

Yateras Yateras is a municipality in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. The municipal seat is located in the town of Palenque, in the northern part of the province. Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is partly located in t ...

. The large municipal territory includes the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountain range and the

Alejandro de Humboldt National Park Alejandro de Humboldt National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt) is a national park in the Cuban provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo. It is named after the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt who visited the island in 1800 ...

. The villages belonging to Moa municipality are Arroyo Blanco, Brinquín, Cañete, Cayo Grande, Centeno, Cocalito, Cupey, Farallones, Punta Gorda, Yaguaneque and

Yamanigüey Yamanigüey is a Cuban village and ''consejo popular'' ("people's council", i.e. hamlet) of the municipality of Moa, in Holguín Province. In 2009 it had a population of 2,394. History Geography Located on the Atlantic Coast, in the north-east ...

. The city includes the quarters (''repartos'') of Centro, Atlántico, Caribe, José Martí, La Playa, Las Coloradas, Los Checos, Los Mangos, Miraflores and Rolo Monterrey.

Demographics

In 2010, the municipality of Moa had a population of 75,015. With a total area of , it has a population density of . This city has the youngest citizens in all of Cuba, and is the second largest city (and the fourth municipality) by population in the Holguín Province.

Environment

Large

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow t ...

and

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...

deposits located in the Moa area are exploited in part by a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

with the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

company Sherritt International. The extensive mining and nickel processing has large impact on the local environment. The coastal waters and nearby land is contaminated by the pollution from mines and processing plants. The soil has a reddish tint due to the iron ore in the ground.

Economy

Nickel production

The nickel production is concentrated on the factories "Pedro Soto Alba" and "Ernesto Che Guevara". While the Nickel Processor Plant "Pedro Soto Alba" is a limited liability company between Cuba and Sherritt International Canadian Company, the "Ernesto Che Guevara" belongs to the government enterprise Cubaníquel. As average per year, The "Soto Alba" and "Che Guevara" produce more than 30,000 tons of nickel each.Article on sulphuric-acid.com
/ref> This industry is what makes Moa a leading nickel producer, and what brings the town most of its GDP.

Transport

The city is served by the

Orestes Acosta Airport Orestes Acosta Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Orestes Acosta) is a regional airport that serves Moa, a municipality in the Holguín Province of Cuba. Facilities The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designa ...

, a regional airport with daily flights to

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.

. It is crossed in the middle by the state highway "

Circuito Norte The ''Circuito Norte'' (CN), meaning "Northern Circuit", is a west-east highway spanning the length of the island of Cuba, through the Atlantic Coast. With a length of 1,222 km, it is the second-longest Cuban highway, after the " Carreter ...

" (CN), the second longest one after the " Carretera Central".

Gallery

Personalities

Addys Mercedes Addys Mercedes (, formerly known as Addys D'Mercedes) is a Cuban pop and world music singer living in Germany and Spain. She made her UK debut in 2001 at the Guildford Festival and since then has undertaken two British tours. Early life A ...

(b. 1973), singer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Cuba Populated places in Holguín Province