Matanzas Province

Matanzas Province
Province of Cuba
Country Cuba
Capital Matanzas
Area[1]
 • Total 11,798.02 km2 (4,555.24 sq mi)
Population (2010-12-31)[1]
 • Total 690,113
 • Density 58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
Area code(s) +53-52
Website Provincial portal

Matanzas (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈtansas]) 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.

Between Cuban provinces, Matanzas is one of the most industrialised, with petroleum wells, refineries, supertanker facilities, and 21 sugar mills to process the harvests of the fields of sugarcane in the province.

Geography

The second largest in Cuba, Matanzas province is largely flat, with its highest point (Pan de Matanzas) at only 380m above sea level.

The north-western coast is largely rocky, with a few beaches, while the north-eastern coast has numerous small cays of its coast (part of Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago), and scrubland and mangroves near the shoreline. Cuba's northernmost point is located in on Hicacos Peninsula.

The southern coast has one of Cuba's most distinctive features: an enormous marsh, Ciénaga de Zapata that covers both the southern part of the province and the Zapata Peninsula. East of the peninsula lies the Bay of Pigs, the site of the failed US backed invasion.

Municipalities

From 1976 to 2010 Matanzas was sub-divided into 14 municipalities.[2] Starting from 2011, the municipality of Varadero was abolished and merged to Cárdenas. Thus Matanzas now has 13 municipalities.

MunicipalityPopulation
(2004)		Area
(km²)		LocationRemarks
Calimete29,73695822°32′2″N 80°54′35″W / 22.53389°N 80.90972°W
Cárdenas103,08756623°02′34″N 81°12′13″W / 23.04278°N 81.20361°W
Cienaga de Zapata8,7504,32022°17′17″N 81°11′51″W / 22.28806°N 81.19750°W Playa Larga
Colón71,57959722°43′21″N 80°54′23″W / 22.72250°N 80.90639°W
Jagüey Grande57,77188222°31′46″N 81°07′57″W / 22.52944°N 81.13250°W
Jovellanos58,68550522°48′38″N 81°11′52″W / 22.81056°N 81.19778°W
Limonar25,42144922°57′22″N 81°24′31″W / 22.95611°N 81.40861°W
Los Arabos25,70276222°44′24″N 80°42′57″W / 22.74000°N 80.71583°W
Martí23,4751,07022°57′9″N 80°55′0″W / 22.95250°N 80.91667°W
Matanzas143,70631723°03′5″N 81°34′30″W / 23.05139°N 81.57500°W Province capital
Pedro Betancourt32,21838822°43′50″N 81°17′27″W / 22.73056°N 81.29083°W
Perico31,14727822°46′31″N 81°00′54″W / 22.77528°N 81.01500°W
Unión de Reyes40,02285622°48′2″N 81°32′13″W / 22.80056°N 81.53694°W
Varadero24,6813223°08′23″N 81°17′10″W / 23.13972°N 81.28611°W Abolished in 2010

Source: Population from 2004 Census.[3] Area from 1976 municipal re-distribution.[4]

Demographics

In 2004, the province of Matanzas had a population of 675,980.[3] With a total area of 11,802.72 km2 (4,557.06 sq mi),[5] the province had a population density of 57.3/km2 (148/sq mi).

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Lugar que ocupa el territorio según la superficie y la población" (PDF). Una MIRADA a Cuba (in Spanish). Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas. Cuba. 2010.
  2. ↑ Atenas.cu. "Municipalities of Matanzas". Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Atenas.cu (2004). "2004 Population trends, by Province and Municipality" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  4. ↑ Statoids (July 2003). "Municipios of Cuba". Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  5. ↑ Government of Cuba (2002). "Population by Province" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2007-10-02.

External links

Media related to Matanzas Province at Wikimedia Commons