Cuba

CUBA

Cuba has a significant geographical position and controls a significant part of the US Mediterranean. The capital and the largest city is Havana (La Habana). Florida from the west shares only 180 km wide Straits of Florida. Yucatan Peninsula from 210 km wide Yucatán Channel, from the island of Haiti in the east of the Strait of Paso de los Vientos, only 77 km wide, from the Bahamas to the northeast Bahamian Channel and the south is close to Jamaica for a distance of 140 km. It is the largest island of the Greater Antilles. On the main island accounts for 94% of the territory. It has an elongated shape is 1,275 km long and 31-191 km wide. Further it extends to 1,600 large and small islands. The total area of ​​the state is 110,922 km² ;. Coast with a total length of 3,500 kilometers is very rugged, mostly flat, marshy, only the southeast steep and inaccessible.

Cuba's nearest neighbors are the Bahamas and the United States to the north, the east Haiti, Jamaica and the UK belonging Cayman Islands in the south and the west of Mexico. Cuba's surface is mostly gently rolling upland. A smaller part of the territory consists (mainly coastal) plain. The highest peak is Pico Tarquini (1974 m). The longest river is the river Canto (250 km).

Cuba climate is tropical, pasátové, with a precise definition of the rainy season. The average temperature of the warmest months of the year t. j. July is 27 ° C and the temperature of the coldest month t. j. January is 23 ° C. Temperature lows are below 5 ° C and highs reaching 40 ° C. The long-term annual average temperature is 25.5 ° C. East and northeast trade winds bring moisture and the mountains create the moist windward and leeward side of dry. The rainy season lasts from May to October (75% of the annual rainfall). The driest month is February Annual average number of rainfall is 1 300 mm. Most irrigated's east coast where it falls a year to 1 900 mm of rainfall. This causes high humidity around 70-80%. Northwest portion of often affect storms and hurricanes, about 10 a year, causing considerable damage. They come regularly from the Caribbean or constitute the overheated level close to the Atlantic. Sometimes hurricane hits the sea to torment and large waves cause large losses. The most devastating wave was recorded September 9, 1932 when a stormy huge wave destroyed the entire Santa Cruz del Sur.