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Caribbean Islands

  • Reference work entry
The World’s Coasts: Online

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1 5.1 Cuba

Compiled by: Eric Bird

Last revised: April 2002

1.1 Introduction

The island of Cuba (1) has an irregular coastline about 3,200 km long. Much of the coastal region is hilly, with more mountainous ranges in the western peninsula (Pinar del Rio) and in the south-east (Sierra Maestra). Lying east of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico (the Yucatan Channel is about 160 km wide) and about 150 km south of the Florida Keys, Cuba is geologically complex, and forms the northern part of the Greater Antilles island arc (Khudoley 1967, Fairbridge 1975). Sectors of steep, sometimes cliffed, coastline alternate with sandy beaches, and mangroves are extensive on low energy shores, particularly behind shallow coralline seas that are bordered by reefs and island chains. There are many rias formed by Late Quaternary marine submergence of valley mouths and low-lying coastal areas, and much of the coast is fringed by marine Quaternary deposits, including emerged coral limestone and associated...

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  1. Eric C. F. Bird
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© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Bird, E.C.F. (2003). Caribbean Islands. In: Bird, E.C.F. (eds) The World’s Coasts: Online. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48369-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48369-6_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48369-1

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