Matanzas Province | |
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Province of Cuba | |
Country | Cuba |
Capital | Matanzas |
Area | |
• Total | 11,798.02 km2 (4,555.24 sq mi) |
Population (2010-12-31) | |
• 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.
Among 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.
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.