Matanzas Province

Matanzas is one of the provinces of Cuba. It has several important towns, including Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos, and its capital, Matanzas. The beautiful resort town of Varadero is also found here.

This province is one of the most industrialized in Cuba. It has petroleum wells and refineries, along with special areas for big ships called supertankers. There are also 21 mills that help process the sweet sugarcane grown in the fields here.

Geography

Matanzas is the second largest province in Cuba. It is mostly flat, with its highest point, Pan de Matanzas, standing at only 380 meters above sea level.

The northwestern coast of Matanzas is rocky with a few beaches. The northeastern coast has many small cays and areas of scrubland and mangroves. The northernmost point of Cuba is on the Hicacos Peninsula. On the southern coast lies a huge marsh called Ciénaga de Zapata, which also covers part of the Zapata Peninsula. To the east of this peninsula is the Bay of Pigs, where a failed invasion from the United States took place.

Municipalities

From 1976 to 2010, Matanzas was divided into 14 smaller areas called municipalities. In 2011, the municipality of Varadero was combined with Cárdenas. After this change, Matanzas had 13 municipalities.

Demographics

In 2004, Matanzas Province in Cuba had a population of 675,980 people. The province covers an area of 11,802.72 km² (4,557.06 sq mi), making its population density about 57.3 people per square kilometer (148 per square mile).