Ciego de Ávila () is one of the provinces 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 ...

, and was previously part of

Camagüey Province Camagüey () is the largest of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Camagüey. Other towns include Florida and Nuevitas. Geography Camagüey is mostly low lying, with no major hills or mountain ranges passing through the province. Numerous la ...

. Its capital is

Ciego de Ávila Ciego de Ávila City () is a city in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. The city has a population of about 497.000, in a municipality of 756,373. Geography Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway ...

, which lies on the Carretera Central (central highway), and the second city is Morón, further north. The province was separated from

in 1975 by the government.

Geography

Off the north coast of the province, some ( cays) of the Jardines del Rey archipelago are being developed as

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

resorts, principally

Cayo Coco Cayo Coco (''Cays'') or (''The Keys)'' is an island in central Cuba, known for its all-inclusive resorts. It lies within the Ciego de Ávila Province and is part of a chain of islands called Jardines del Rey (''King's Gardens''). The cay is admini ...

and Cayo Guillermo. The south coast is characterised by

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal 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 evolution in severa ...

s. Between Morón and the north coast are several lakes, including the

Laguna de Leche Laguna de Leche (Spanish for "Milk Lagoon", also called ''Laguna Grande de Morón'') is the largest natural fresh water lake in Cuba. It is located in the wetland of northern Ciego de Ávila Province, north of Morón, and has a total surface of ...

(the ''Lagoon of Milk'', so called for its white appearance because of large lime deposits underwater) which is the largest natural lake in Cuba.

Economy

Central Ciego de Ávila is used for

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

ranching, elsewhere in the province

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

s and

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

are grown. Pineapples are the staple crop, but sweet potatoes, potatoes, yuca, plantains, and bananas are also cultivated for national consumption.

Municipalities

''Source: Population from 2004 Census.'' ''Area from 1976 municipal re-distribution.''

Demographics

In 2004, the province of Ciego de Ávila had a population of 416,370. With a total area of , the province had a population density of .

References

External links

Ciego de Ávila
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciego de Avila Province Provinces of Cuba States and territories established in 1975