Guantánamo is the easternmost 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 capital is also called
Guantánamo
Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province.
Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...
. Other towns include
Baracoa. The province has the only land border of the
U.S. Navy base at
Guantánamo Bay
Guantánamo Bay ( es, Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut o ...
.
Overview
Guantánamo's architecture and culture is unlike the rest of Cuba. The province is only away from
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
at its closest point, across the
Windward Passage
The Windward Passage (french: Passage au Vent; es, Paso de los Vientos) is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The strait specifically lies between the easternmost region of Cuba and the northwest of Haiti. ...
(close enough to see lights on Haiti on a clear night). Guantánamo also has a high number of immigrants from
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 ...
. Many buildings are comparable to those of the
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...
of
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
.
The Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains dominate the province, dividing both
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
and
landscape
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
. The northern coast, battered by prevailing winds, is the wettest part of the country, while the south, sheltered and dry, is the hottest. The north is characterized by
rainforests
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest, ...
, while the south is
arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...
and has many
cacti
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...
.
Municipalities
#
Baracoa
#
Caimanera
#
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
#
Guantánamo
Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province.
Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...
#
Imías
Imías is a municipality and town in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. It is located on the southern coast of Cuba, bordering the Caribbean Sea to the south.
Geography
The municipality of Imías borders with San Antonio del Sur, Baracoa and Mai ...
#
Maisí (
La Máquina
''La Máquina'' (Spanish for "the Machine") is a nickname given to the River Plate football team from 1941 to 1947, commonly referred by the media as the best Argentine team of its era and one of the best teams worldwide. )
#
Manuel Tames
Manuel Tames is a municipality and town in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. Its administrative seat is located in the town of Jamaica.
Geography
The town is located east of the provincial capital, Guantánamo.
Demographics
In 2004, the municip ...
#
Niceto Pérez
Niceto Pérez () is a municipality and town in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. It is located west of the provincial capital, Guantánamo.
Demographics
In 2004, the municipality of Niceto Pérez had a population of 17,783. With a total area o ...
#
San Antonio del Sur
San Antonio del Sur is a municipality and town in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. It is located on the southern coast of Cuba, bordering the Windward Passage to the south.
Demographics
In 2004, the municipality of San Antonio del Sur had a po ...
#
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 ...
(
Palenque
Palenque (; Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ ("Big Water or Big Waters"), was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. ...
)
See also
*''
Guantanamera
"Guantanamera" (; Spanish: (the woman) from Guantánamo) is perhaps the best-known Cuban song and that country's most-noted patriotic song, especially when using a poem by the Cuban poet José Martí for the lyrics. The official writing credi ...
''
*
Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt
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 ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guantanamo Province
Provinces of Cuba
States and territories established in 1976