Guantánamo Province

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Statistics
Capital:	Guantánamo
Area:	6,167.97km²
Inhabitants:	507,118
Population Density:	82.22 per km²
Map
Image:Guantánamo Province Location.png

This article is about the province in Cuba. For other titular locales and uses, see Guantanamo (disambiguation).

Guantánamo is the easternmost province of Cuba. Its capital is also called Guantánamo. Other towns include Baracoa. The province surrounds the important U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay.

Guantánamo's architecture and culture is unlike the rest of Cuba. The province is only 80 km away from Haiti its closest point, across the Windward Passage and close enough to see lights on Haiti on a clear night. Guantánamo also has a high number of immigrants from Jamaica, meaning that many buildings are comparable to those of the French Quarter of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana.

The Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains dominate the province, dividing both climate and landscape. The northern coast, battered by prevailing winds, is the wettest part of the country, while the south, sheltered and dry, is the hottest. The north is characterized by rainforests, while the south is arid and has many cacti.