9781422279779

Eastern Cuba is a mountainous region. The island’s longest and highest mountain range, the Sierra Maestra, overlooks the southeastern coast. It dominates the province of Santiago de Cuba and extends into the neighboring province of Granma. The range, which is oriented in an east-west direction, runs about 150 miles (241 km) in total. The average elevation along the top of the range’s long spine is around 4,920 feet (1,500 meters). At 6,476 feet (1,974 meters), Pico Turquino is both the tallest peak in the Sierra Maestra and the highest point in Cuba. The Sierra Maestra is heavily forested. It’s also quite rugged, with steep slopes and plunging ravines. Smaller mountain ranges, notably the Sierra de Nipe and the Sierra Cristal, cover the southern part of the province of Holguín and much of the province of Guantánamo. Holguín borders Santiago de Cuba to the north. Guantánamo, Cuba’s easternmost province, borders Santiago de Cuba to the east. Pico Cristal, the highest mountain in the Sierra Cristal range, ranks as Cuba’s second-highest peak. Its summit rises 4,039 feet (1,231 meters) above sea level. Outside of the eastern part of the island, Cuba has two sig- nificant mountain ranges. The Sierra del Escambray, situated in south-central Cuba, covers about 2,500 square miles (6,475 sq km) in the provinces of Sancti Spíritus, Villa Clara, and Cienfuegos. The tallest peak in the range, at about 3,740 feet (1,140 m), is Pico San Juan. The Cordillera de Guaniguanico is a string of low moun- tains and hills in western Cuba. It runs parallel to the island’s northern coast for about 100 miles (160 km). The cordillera lies almost entirely within Cuba’s westernmost province, Pinar

The Land 11