Caguanes National Park

Caguanes National Park
Caguanes National Park is located in Cuba
Caguanes National Park
Location within Cuba
Location Cuba
Nearest cityYaguajay
Coordinates22°22′47″N 79°07′45″W / 22.37972°N 79.12917°W / 22.37972; -79.12917
Area204.87 km2 (79.10 sq mi)[1]
Established18 December 2001[2]

Caguanes National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Caguanes) is a national park located in Yaguajay municipality in Sancti Spíritus Province on the northern (Atlantic) coast of Cuba. It supports a wide variety of plant and animal species and has a number of important archaeological sites.[2] It is part of the Buenavista Biosphere Reserve.[3][4]

Geography

It is centered around the Caguanes peninsula and includes "the coastal plain Corralillo-Yaguajay and a marine-coastal area in the Bay of Buena Vista", several small cays called the Cayos de Piedra (Stone Keys) in the bay (a Ramsar Convention site),[2] and the Guayaberas swamps and mangroves.[4] The park covers an area of 204.87 square kilometres (79.10 sq mi).[1]

There are numerous caves within the park,[2][3] around 79 according to two sources,[4][5] which provide a habitat for bats and other cave dwellers.[3] Some contain pictographs and other signs of prehistoric residents (see Archaeology section below).[2]

Coral reefs[3][4] and four types of underwater geological formations called "hillocks"[2] provide shelter for marine fauna.

Flora and fauna

The ecosystem supports 460 animal species, 271 invertebrate and 189 vertebrate,[2] including the Cuban hutia, Cuban rock iguana, bats, sea turtles, and resident and migratory birds; one of the former is Cuba's national bird, the Cuban trogon.[3]

There are also 368 species of terrestrial plants,[2] including mangroves, as well as semi-deciduous forests.[3]

Archeology

Archaeological studies have been conducted since the 1940s.[2] In 1941, two funeral caves were found.[2] Pictographs have been found in the Punta de Caguanas[6] and petroglyphs and other artifacts in numerous other caves.[3] In 1986, a fossil of the Cuban giant owl was found.[2] There are 38 archeological sites in all.[2]

Tourism

Around 7000 tourists visit per year, providing employment for approximately 25,000 residents.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 National Protected Areas System of Cuba. "Protected Areas". Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Parque Nacional Caguanes". UNESCO. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Caguenas National Park". nationalparksassociation.org. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Discovering Cuba's Coastal Treasures: Caguanes National Park and Buenavista Biosphere Reserve". Latin American & Caribbean Geographic. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Radio Habana. "Yaguajay y el Parque Nacional Caguanes" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 October 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
  6. ↑ Gerardo Izquierdo Díaz; Alexis Rives Pantoja (October 2010). "Estilos del Arte rupetre en Cuba (Rock Art Styles in Cuba)" (PDF). p. 13. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
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