Cuba, located next to the Tropic of Cancer, is a tropical country. The information usually given through the media refers to Cuba as an island. That is why people are surprised when, referring to the Republic of Cuba; its archipelagos are also mentioned because Cuba is not really an island but a group of islands known in the Caribbean as keys.
We can refer to Cuba as: one, from the political point of view, (The Republic of Cuba) and another, from the geographical point of view (the Island of Cuba and its four archipelagos). These last ones distributed in a regular way, two in the Northern coast and two in the Southern coast. It is thought that the origin of these archipelagos, as well as all the current coasts, date from the Pliocene-Pleistocene, due mainly to the variations of the sea level during the quaternary glaciations that flooded the low areas of the former territory of Cuba.
All of them have in common the fact of their location in low coasts with mangrove forests and not very deep sea, and a wide insular platform which makes navigation difficult for certain boats. There are coral reefs which act as barriers (similar to the Great Australian Coral Reef), and indicate that the depth descends towards the ocean bottom. Navigation through these waters is very dangerous and calls for experts. Sailors are warned thanks to the system of buoys and lighthouses, almost all of them built during colonial times and the first years of the Republic. Some places have remains of old shipwrecks that occurred during Spanish colonization.
These inner reefs make up the exterior border of Cuba. Navigating these places is really fascinating since the reef barrier can be crossed through small channels but only with pilots as we pointed out before, since it is not only dangerous to try to find these small accesses, but also to avoid the streams due to the changing tides and the abundant rocks under not very deep waters. Even the fauna can be dangerous, though there are not records of these accidents, the morays, sharks and crocodiles of two species: the crocodile Acutus (commonly known as American crocodile) and the Rhombifer ( also known as Cuban crocodile), are potentially dangerous animals and you have to take into account the possibility, if remote, of an attack.
Another type of coast in Cuba, as fascinating as those you find in the archipelagos, are the high cliff coasts. In them there is no wide insular platform but it is common to find wonderful beaches and marine terrace systems, bays with very narrow entrances, wide in their interior and narrow plains where the geographical features are very interesting. You can also find almost deserted zones and extend areas of lime lands where curious flora and fauna species are abundant, particularly the fascinating lizards and turtles. Both types of coasts are not situated at random, but distributed in a regular way.
It is important to know these types of coasts and identify them in the maps which are commonly sold in the country in order to plan our holidays according to our interests, especially for those who love the sea and its natural elements.
But, how to learn the above mentioned? It is very easy. In the Northern coast as well as in the Southern, both types alternate. It is only necessary to identify both ends of the coasts and determine in its geographical elements in any map. There are nine sections, four to the North and five to the South.
In publications of scientific profile, coasts are classified into two types: coastal zone of oceanic sea and coastal zone of wide platform. Two groups which correspond with the two coast sections: high coast and low coast. It is almost the same but with different names. It is recommended to combine both nominations.
A map that could be very well used to make a tour along our coasts is the Road Guide, a special publication of the Tourist Guide of Cuba very updated, where the main coastal accidents can be observed in detail. The sides that must be located, starting from the North coast and Eastwards, are the following:
The first section, an area of wide platform, goes from San Antonio Cape to Punta de la Gobernadora, (Governess Tip) next to Bahia Honda (Deep Bay) town, located by the bay of the same name. This corresponds with the coastal area of wide platform. The insular platform is large and the sea is not deep. The coast is bordered by dense mangrove and a reef barrier where the platform descends abruptly to the bottom of the ocean. In this section it is common to find keys, some of them with wonderful beaches and other beauties. The villages are small and mainly engaged to fishing.
The second section corresponds to a zone of oceanic sea. It is located between Punta de la Gobernadora (Governess Tip) and the Hicacos Cape, at the peninsula of the same name. The coast is high and rocky, without keys or mangrove. The sea is deeper than in the previous section because the insular platform is very narrow. The wide bays are common, many of them wide in the interior with narrow entrance channels. The Havana Bay is a typical example of this. There are also abundant sand beaches without swampy sections.
In this section we can find two areas with this kind of beaches, which are considered among the best in Cuba: one at both sides of Havana City, to the West (Western Beaches) and to the East (Eastern Beaches), while the other is located at the East of Matanzas Bay, where we find Varadero Beach, one of the best in Cuba.
The next section ( the third one), from Hicacos Cape to Nuevitas Bay, is similar to the first one regarding its geographical conditions; while the fourth one, from Nuevitas Bay to Punta de Quemado, is similar to the second one.
The Southern coast alternates in the same way: the first section is high and rocky (coastal zone of oceanic sea), it goes from Punta de Quemado to Cabo Cruz (Cross Cape), similar to the first section on the Northern coast. The next section, from Cross Cape to Punta Maria Aguilar, is low and swampy (coastal zone of wide platform), with the presence of keys and mangrove. The next one, from Punta Maria Aguilar to Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs), is high and rocky, similar to the first one in the Southern coast. The forth section, from Bay of Pigs to Cabo Cortes (Cortes Cape), is low and swampy, with mangrove and several keys and reefs, similar to the second section of the Southern coast. The last section, from Cortes Cape to San Antonio Cape, is high and rocky, as the first section in the Southern coast.
It is good to point out that each section or coastal area is different in respect to its local phenomena, although the general characteristics are the same, as we said before. That is to say, if you want to visit interesting points of the Cuban coasts, whether they are keys, reefs, beaches or others, it is necessary to know their features and to use the recommended map. This way, you can make a correct planning of your free time and select the places according to your interests, even thinking of lodging in every selected place.
In further works we will describe our coasts, the tourist centers and the protected areas. The common denominator in the whole country is to balance the economic development and the area preservation. You can visit the proposed places to enjoy nature, following the established regulations, most of all in protected areas.
We also will provide you with a brief description of the neighbor villages you can visit during the tour along our coasts, including where to stay
