Matanzas Province

Matanzas Province
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.

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. Starting from 2011, the municipality of Varadero was abolished and merged to Cárdenas. Thus Matanzas now has 13 municipalities.

Municipality	Population (2004)	Area (km²)	Location	Remarks
Calimete	29,736	958
Cárdenas	103,087	566
Cienaga de Zapata	8,750	4,320		Playa Larga
Colón	71,579	597
Jagüey Grande	57,771	882
Jovellanos	58,685	505
Limonar	25,421	449
Los Arabos	25,702	762
Martí	23,475	1,070
Matanzas	143,706	317		Province capital
Pedro Betancourt	32,218	388
Perico	31,147	278
Unión de Reyes	40,022	856
Varadero	24,681	32		Abolished in 2010

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

Demographics

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

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Provincial portal