1.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
–
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying. IUCNs mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of resources is equitable. Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to equality, poverty alleviation. Unlike other international NGOs, IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation and it tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through lobbying and partnerships. The organization is best known to the public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List. IUCN has a membership of over 1200 governmental and non-governmental organizations, some 11,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 60 countries and its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several conventions on nature conservation. It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature, in the past, IUCN has been criticized for placing the interests of nature over those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, its relations with the business sector have caused controversy. It was previously called the International Union for Protection of Nature, establishment In 1947, the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature organised an international conference on the protection of nature in Brunnen. It is considered to be the first government-organized non-governmental organization, the initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and especially from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley. At the time of its founding IUPN was the international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation Early years. Its secretariat was located in Brussels and its first work program focused on saving species and habitats, increasing and applying knowledge, advancing education, promoting international agreements and promoting conservation. Providing a solid base for conservation action was the heart of all activities. IUPN and UNESCO were closely associated and they jointly organized the 1949 Conference on Protection of Nature. In preparation for this conference a list of endangered species was drawn up for the first time
2.
National park
–
A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns, although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea, the conservation of wild nature for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, although Yellowstone was not officially termed a national park in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. The first area to use national park in its legislation was the USs Mackinac Island. Australias Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the third official national park. In 1895 ownership of Mackinac Island was transferred to the State of Michigan as a state park, as a result, Australias Royal National Park is by some considerations the second oldest national park now in existence. The largest national park in the meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park. According to the IUCN,6,555 national parks worldwide met its criteria in 2006, IUCN is still discussing the parameters of defining a national park. National parks are almost always open to visitors, in 1971, these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. In 1810, the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a sort of property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive. It was known as Hot Springs Reservation, but no authority was established. Federal control of the area was not clearly established until 1877, John Muir is today referred to as the Father of the National Parks due to his work in Yosemite. He published two articles in The Century Magazine, which formed the base for the subsequent legislation. President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on July 1,1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley, according to this bill, private ownership of the land in this area was no longer possible. The state of California was designated to manage the park for use, resort. Leases were permitted for up to ten years and the proceeds were to be used for conservation, a public discussion followed this first legislation of its kind and there was a heated debate over whether the government had the right to create parks. The perceived mismanagement of Yosemite by the Californian state was the reason why Yellowstone at its establishment six years later was put under national control, in 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the United States first national park, being also the worlds first national park. In some European countries, however, national protection and nature reserves already existed, such as Drachenfels, Yellowstone was part of a federally governed territory
3.
Cuba
–
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and it is south of both the U. S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital, other cities include Santiago de Cuba. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres, prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, as a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batistas ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 Movement, since 1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. A point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, a nuclear war broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America, Cuba is a Marxist–Leninist one-party republic, where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have accused the Cuban government of human rights abuses. It is one of the worlds last planned economies and its economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee, according to the Human Development Index, Cuba is described as a country with high human development and is ranked the eighth highest in North America. It also ranks highly in some metrics of national performance, including health care, the name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant, authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cuba was inhabited by three distinct tribes of indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Taíno, the Guanajatabey, and the Ciboney people. The ancestors of the Ciboney migrated from the mainland of South America, the Taíno arrived from Hispanola sometime in the 3rd century A. D. When Columbus arrived they were the dominant culture in Cuba, having a population of 150,000. The name Cuba comes from the native Taíno language and it is derived from either coabana meaning great place, or from cubao meaning where fertile land is abundant. The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers, Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias. In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa, other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital
4.
Zapata Swamp
–
Zapata Swamp is located on the Zapata Peninsula in the southern Matanzas province of Cuba. It is located less than 150 kilometres southeast of Havana, ciénaga de Zapata represents also a municipality, the largest one of Cuba with 4,162 km2. Within the Zapata Swamp are over 900 autochthonous plant species,175 species of birds,31 species of reptiles, some of the most notable are local endemics to Cuba, for birds, it includes the Zapata wren, Zapata rail, and the Zapata sparrow. The Zapata Swamp is also visited by 65 species of birds during their migration pattern from North America through the Caribbean to South America. Zapata is also known for the local endemic Cuban crocodile which are restricted to the Zapata Swamp and are being reintroduced to the nearby Lanier Swamp on the Isle of Youth, in mid-2001 an additional 4,520 km² were declared a Ramsar Site in mid-2001. The Zapata Swamp lies between 22°01’ and 22°40’ N latitude and between 80°33’ and 82°09’ W longitude, the swamp in total is over one million acres. Between May and October, the warmest season of the year, between November and April, the coldest season of the year, the temperature on average is 20 °C. Ciénaga de Zapata is administered as one of 14 municipalities of the Matanzas Province, in 2004, the municipality of Cienaga de Zapata had a population of 8,611. With a total area of 4,162 km2, it has a density of 2. 0/km2. Geography of Cuba Playa Girón Protected area Ramsar Convention World Conservation Monitoring Centre cubatechtravel. com, Areas of Natural Interes, Beaches, Nature Trails
5.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
Ramsar Convention
–
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands and it is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. The most recent COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, cOP13 will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2018. The List of Wetlands of International Importance included 2,231 Ramsar Sites in March 2016 covering over 2.1 million square kilometres. The country with the highest number of Sites is the United Kingdom with 170, the Ramsar Sites Information Service is a searchable database which provides information on each Ramsar Site. As of 2016 there are 18 Transboundary Ramsar Sites, as of 2016 there are 15 Ramsar Regional Initiatives covering regions of the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa and South America. The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other known as International Organization Partners. The IOPs also participate regularly as observers in all meetings of the Conference of the Parties and as members of the Scientific. Conference of the Parties Conference of the Parties is the Conventions governing body consisting of all governments that have ratified the treaty and this ultimate authority reviews progress under the Convention, identifies new priorities, and sets work plans for members. The COP can also make amendments to the Convention, create expert advisory bodies, review progress reports by member nations, and collaborate with other international organizations and agreements. The Standing Committee The Standing Committee is the executive body which represents the COP between its triennial meetings, within the framework of the decisions made by the COP. The Contracting Parties that are members of the Standing Committee are elected by each meeting of the COP to serve for the three years until the next one, the Secretariat The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day coordination of the Convention’s activities. It is based at the headquarters of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland, the 2nd of February each year is World Wetlands Day, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971. Established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity, in 2015 World Wetlands Day was celebrated in 59 countries
7.
Municipalities of Cuba
–
The provinces of Cuba are divided into 168 municipalities or municipios. The municipalities are listed below, by province, Source, Population from 2004 Census, Artemisa Province is sub-divided into 11 municipalities. Artemisa was created in 2011 as a split of the former La Habana province, camagüey Province is sub-divided into 13 municipalities. Ciego de Ávila Province is sub-divided into 10 municipalities, cienfuegos Province is sub-divided into 8 municipalities. Granma Province is sub-divided into 13 municipalities, guantánamo Province is sub-divided into 10 municipalities. Havana, the capital, is sub-divided into 15 municipalities. Holguín Province is sub-divided into 14 municipalities, labeled as special municipality, Isla de la Juventud is administered as a single administrative unit. Nueva Gerona is the municipal capital, las Tunas Province is sub-divided into 8 municipalities. As for 2011 Matanzas Province is sub-divided into 13 municipalities, since Varadero municipality was abrogated, mayabeque Province is sub-divided into 11 municipalities. Mayabeque was created in 2011 as a split of former La Habana province, as for 2011 Pinar del Río Province is sub-divided into 11 municipalities, since the three most eastern municipalities were transferred to Artemisa Province. Sancti Spíritus Province is sub-divided into 8 municipalities, santiago de Cuba Province is sub-divided into 9 municipalities. Villa Clara Province is sub-divided into 13 municipalities, the maps below show the municipal subdivision of each province, in yellow, within Cuba. Each provincial capital is shown in red.1 Note, Provinces of Cuba List of cities in Cuba List of places in Cuba Statoids
8.
Provinces of Cuba
–
Administratively, Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and a special municipality thats not included in any province. The last modification was approved in August 2010, splitting Havana province into two new provinces, Artemisa and Mayabeque, the new provinces started functioning from January 1,2011. Havana City Province recovered its original name, La Habana, Isla de la Juventud was known until the 1970s as the Isla de Pinos. The provinces were created in 1879 by the Spanish colonial government, from 1879 to 1976, Cuba was divided into 6 provinces, which maintained with little changes the same boundaries and capital cities, although with modifications in official names. These historical provinces are the following, Pinar del Río La Habana, included the city of Havana, current Mayabeque, some municipalities of current Artemisa Province, oriente, contained the present-day provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo Pop. Source, Cuba census 2002 Presidents of the Provincial Assemblies of Peoples Power in each province in the country
9.
Matanzas Province
–
Matanzas is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos, the resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. The second largest in Cuba, Matanzas province is largely flat, the north-western coast is largely rocky, with a few beaches, while the north-eastern coast has numerous small cays of its coast, and scrubland and mangroves near the shoreline. Cubas northernmost point is located in on Hicacos Peninsula, the southern coast has one of Cubas most distinctive features, an enormous marsh, Ciénaga de Zapata that covers both the southern part of the province and the Zapata Peninsula. East of the lies the Bay of Pigs, the site of the failed US backed invasion. From 1976 to 2010 Matanzas was sub-divided into 14 municipalities, starting from 2011, the municipality of Varadero was abolished and merged to Cárdenas. Thus Matanzas now has 13 municipalities, in 2004, the province of Matanzas had a population of 675,980. With a total area of 11,802.72 km2, Cuba, History and Description, Special Places, Matanzas. List of Works Relating to the West Indies, media related to Matanzas Province at Wikimedia Commons Provincial portal
10.
Eastern Time Zone
–
Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
11.
UTC-5
–
UTC−05,00 is a time offset that subtracts five hours from Coordinated Universal Time. In North America, it is observed in the Eastern Time Zone during standard time, the western Caribbean uses it year round. The southwestern and northwestern portions of Indiana Mexico – Central Zone Central, in most of Mexico, daylight time starts a few weeks after the United States. Communities on the U. S. border that observe Central Time follow the U. S. daylight time schedule
12.
Spanish language
–
Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
13.
Zapata Peninsula
–
Zapata Peninsula is a large peninsula in Matanzas Province, southern Cuba, at 22. 30°N81. 38°W /22.30, -81.38. Ciénaga de Zapata National Park is located on the peninsula and it is located south of Ensenada de la Broa, east of the gulf of Batabano and north of the Gulf of Cazones. The Bay of Pigs defines its eastern limit, to the north, it is lined by the Carretera Central highway
14.
Matanzas
–
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Matanzas is called the City of Bridges, for the seventeen bridges that cross the three rivers that traverse the city, for this reason it was referred to as the Venice of Cuba. It was also called La Atenas de Cuba for its poets, Matanzas is known as the birthplace of the music and dance traditions danzón and rumba. Matanzas was founded in 1693 as San Carlos y San Severino de Matanzas and this followed a royal decree issued on September 25,1690, which decreed that the bay and port of Matanzas be settled by 30 families from the Canary Islands. Matanzas was one of the regions that saw development of sugar plantations during the colonial era. Consequently, many African slaves were imported to support the sugar industry, for example, in 1792 there were 1900 slaves in Matanzas, roughly 30% of its population. In 1817, the population of Matanzas had grown to 10,773. By 1841,53,331 slaves made up 62. 7% of the population of Matanzas, census figures for 1859 put the Matanzas slave population at 104,519. Matanzas was the site of slave insurrections and plots, including the infamous Escalera conspiracy. Due to the number of both slaves and, importantly, free Afro-Cubans in Matanzas, the retention of African traditions is especially strong there. In 1898, Matanzas became the location of the first action in the Spanish–American War, the city was bombarded by American Navy vessels on April 25,1898, just after the beginning of the war. The Spanish soldiers had no boats, so they enlisted the help of native fishermen, however, once they reached the middle of the river, the fishermen flipped the boats, and due to the Spanish soldiers heavy metal armor, most of them drowned. Only two women—one said to be the beautiful María de Estrada—survived, the result of being taken by a Cacique, De Estrada is said to have later escaped the power of the Cacique and married Pedro Sánchez Farfán in the city of Trinidad. The city is located on the shore of the island of Cuba. The bay cuts deep in the island, and three rivers flow in the bay inside city limits, to the south-east, the landscape rises into a hill called Pan de Matanzas, divided from the Atlantic coast by the Yumuri Valley and a coastal ridge. The city of Matanzas is divided into three neighborhoods, Versalles, Matanzas, and Pueblo Nuevo, transportation Matanzas is served by Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport,15 km east of the city. The city has two railway stations, the main station is on the main line from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. The electrified Hershey train operates by a different route to Havana from a station in the barrio of Versalles
15.
Havana
–
Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City, later on, the city would be officially designated as Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies by the Spanish Crown
16.
Invertebrate
–
Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column, derived from the notochord. This includes all animals apart from the subphylum Vertebrata, familiar examples of invertebrates include insects, crabs, lobsters and their kin, snails, clams, octopuses and their kin, starfish, sea-urchins and their kin, jellyfish, and worms. The majority of species are invertebrates, one estimate puts the figure at 97%. Many invertebrate taxa have a number and variety of species than the entire subphylum of Vertebrata. Some of the invertebrates, such as the Tunicata and Cephalochordata are more closely related to the vertebrates than to other invertebrates. This makes the term invertebrate paraphyletic and hence almost meaningless for taxonomic purposes, the word invertebrate comes from the form of the Latin word vertebra, which means a joint in general, and sometimes specifically a joint from the spinal column of a vertebrate. In turn the jointed aspect of vertebra derived from the concept of turning, coupled with the prefix in-, meaning not or without. The term invertebrates is not always precise among non-biologists since it does not accurately describe a taxon in the way that Arthropoda. Each of these describes an valid taxon, phylum, subphylum or family. Invertebrata is a term of convenience, not a taxon, it has very little circumscriptional significance except within the Chordata, the Vertebrata as a subphylum comprises such a small proportion of the Metazoa that to speak of the kingdom Animalia in terms of Vertebrata and Invertebrata has limited practicality. That would at least circumscribe the Chordata, however, even the notochord would be a less fundamental criterion than aspects of embryological development and symmetry or perhaps bauplan. The following text reflects earlier scientific understanding of the term and of animals which have constituted it. According to this understanding, invertebrates do not possess a skeleton of bone and they include hugely varied body plans. Many have fluid-filled, hydrostatic skeletons, like jellyfish or worms, others have hard exoskeletons, outer shells like those of insects and crustaceans. The most familiar invertebrates include the Protozoa, Porifera, Coelenterata, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Arthropoda include insects, crustaceans and arachnids. By far the largest number of described species are insects. The following table lists the number of described extant species for major invertebrate groups as estimated in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,2014.3. The IUCN estimates that 66,178 extant vertebrate species have been described, the trait that is common to all invertebrates is the absence of a vertebral column, this creates a distinction between invertebrates and vertebrates
17.
Endemism
–
The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, the word endemic is from New Latin endēmicus, from Greek ενδήμος, endēmos, native. Endēmos is formed of en meaning in, and dēmos meaning the people, the term, precinctive, has been suggested by some scientists, and was first used in botany by MacCaughey in 1917. It is the equivalent of endemism, precinction was perhaps first used by Frank and McCoy. That definition excludes artificial confinement of examples by humans in far-off botanical gardens or zoological parks, physical, climatic, and biological factors can contribute to endemism. The orange-breasted sunbird is found in the fynbos vegetation zone of southwestern South Africa. The glacier bear is found only in limited places in Southeast Alaska, political factors can play a part if a species is protected, or actively hunted, in one jurisdiction but not another. There are two subcategories of endemism, paleoendemism and neoendemism, paleoendemism refers to species that were formerly widespread but are now restricted to a smaller area. Neoendemism refers to species that have arisen, such as through divergence and reproductive isolation or through hybridization. Endemics can easily become endangered or extinct if their restricted habitat changes, particularly—but not only—due to human actions, there were millions of both Bermuda petrels and Bermuda cedars in Bermuda when it was settled at the start of the seventeenth century. By the end of the century, the petrels were thought extinct, cedars, already ravaged by centuries of shipbuilding, were driven nearly to extinction in the twentieth century by the introduction of a parasite. Bermuda petrels and cedars are now rare, as are species endemic to Bermuda
18.
Zapata wren
–
The Zapata wren is a medium sized grayish-brown bird that lives in dense shrubs of the Zapata Swamp, Cuba. It is the member of the monotypical genus Ferminia. Measuring about 16 centimetres in length, it is overall, though striped with black. The Zapata wren is confined and endemic to the Zapata Peninsula of southern Cuba. The birds song is similar to that of the wren, in that it is high-pitched and loud, described as a musical warble preceded by guttural note. The Zapata wrens habitat is typically freshwater marsh and lowland savanna with scattered bushes and it feeds on insects, spiders, small snails, lizards and berries. The wren typically makes its nest in sawgrass tussocks and it is thought to breed between January and July. Typical threats are fires in the dry season, drainage of the wetlands, destruction due to agriculture, birdLife Species Factsheet Image of Cervera and his Zapata birds at Birding Cuba Zapata wren videos on the Internet Bird Collection
19.
Zapata rail
–
The Zapata rail is a medium-sized, dark-coloured rail, the only member of the monotypic genus Cyanolimnas. It has brown upperparts, greyish-blue underparts, a yellow bill, white undertail coverts. Its short wings render it almost flightless and it is endemic to the wetlands of the Zapata Peninsula in southern Cuba, where its only known nest was found in sawgrass tussocks. Little is known of its diet or reproductive behaviour, and its described calls may belong to a different species, the species was discovered by Spanish zoologist Fermín Zanón Cervera in March 1927 in the Zapata Swamp near Santo Tomás, in the southern Matanzas Province of Cuba. The swamp holds one other bird found nowhere else, the Zapata wren, tourism and climate change may pose threats in the future. The Zapata rail was formally described by American herpetologist Thomas Barbour and his compatriot, ornithologist James Lee Peters and they considered it distinctive enough to merit its own genus, Cyanolimnas. Barbour had been accompanied by the Spaniard on his previous visits to Cuba, Cervera eventually found the rail near the very small settlement which is commemorated in the Spanish name for the rail, Gallinuela de Santo Tomás. Cervera also discovered the Zapata wren and the Zapata sparrow, the rail family contains more than 150 species divided into at least 50 genera, the exact number depending on the authority. The Zapata rail is the member of the genus Cyanolimnas. All six species in the three genera are long-billed, five have drab plumage, and all but one have a red spot at the bill base and they are believed to be descended from Amaurornis-like ancestral stock. This is a medium-sized, dark rail, approximately 29 cm long, the upperparts are olive-brown and the forehead, head sides and underparts are slate-grey, with some white barring on the lower belly. The flanks are grey-brown and the undertail is white, the iris, legs and feet are red, and the bill is yellow with a red base. The tail feathers are only sparsely barbed, and the wings are very short, the sexes are similar in appearance, but immature birds are duller and have olive feet and bill, the chicks, as with all rails, are covered with blackish down. The Zapata rails call is described as a bouncing cutucutu-cutucutu-cutucutu similar to that of the owl. However, these calls may actually be those of the spotted rail, there are no similar species in Cuba, the sympatric spotted rail is much the same size, but is heavily spotted and barred with white. The Zapata rails plumage is intermediate between those of Colombian crake and plumbeous rail, but these are birds of Central. This rail is a Cuban endemic restricted to the part of the 4500 km2 Zapata Swamp, which is also the only location for the Zapata wren. The favoured habitat of the Zapata rail is flooded vegetation,1. 5–2.0 m tall, consisting of tangled, bush-covered swamp and low trees, and preferably near higher ground
20.
Zapata sparrow
–
The Zapata sparrow is a medium-sized grey and yellow bird that lives in the grasslands of the Zapata Swamp and elsewhere on the island of Cuba. Measuring about 16.5 centimetres in length, it is grey and yellow overall with a dark reddish-brown crown, the Zapata sparrow is confined and endemic to Cuba. Two other populations have since discovered, on the island of Cayo Coco in Camagüey Province. As the species is no longer confined to Zapata the alternative name of Cuban sparrow is sometimes suggested, each population is assigned to a different race due to differences in plumage and ecology. The form varonai was described by in a Cuban publication, claims have been put forth relating to the obscurity or presumed non-existence of this original description. Buden and Olson, not reviewing the description, drew attention to Bond, Olson received a reprint of this from Regalado. The only indication of the source on this is printed at the top of page 87, Centre Agricola and this is the citation given by Garrido et al. whereas Bond cites the original description of Torreornis inexpectata varonai Regalado as Rev. Minist Educ. Rep. Cuba,8, Nov.2,1981 and that, apart from the initial page number being the same, would seem to be a different publication. However, they failed to mention or cite Morton and Gonzalez Alonso, who make reference to varonai, dickinson also suggested that there was an element of doubt as to whether or not the description was published. However, copies of the dating to 1981 and earlier are currently deposited in the Smathers Library of the University of Florida. The birds song is described as metallic high-pitched trill at intervals tziii-tzziii-tzziii. in the dry seasons the Zapata population feeds on seeds and flowers primarily, as well as, insects, spiders, snails and their eggs. In the wet season the Zapata sparrow is known to eat small lizards and it is thought to breed between March and June. Typical threats are wildfires in the dry season, drainage of wetlands, and destruction of habitat due to agriculture and tourism
21.
Bee hummingbird
–
The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird is a species of hummingbird regarded as the worlds smallest bird. With a mass around 1. 6–2 g and a length of 5–6 cm, the male has the green pileum and fiery red throat, iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper-parts, and the rest of the underparts mostly greyish white. The male is smaller than the female, the female is green above, whitish below, with white tips to the outer tail feathers. Compared to other small hummingbirds, which often have a slender appearance, female bee hummingbirds are bluish green with a pale gray underside. The tips of their feathers have white spots. During the mating season, males have a reddish to pink head, chin, the female lays only two eggs at a time, each about the size of a coffee bean. As the smallest bird in the world, its weight is less than 2 grams or about equal in mass to a United States dime, as its name suggests, it is scarcely larger than a bee. Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier, the brilliant, iridescent colors of the bee hummingbirds feathers make the bird seem like a tiny jewel. The iridescence is not always noticeable, but depends on the angle at which a person looks at the bird, the birds slender, pointed bill is adapted for probing deep into flowers. The bee hummingbird feeds mainly on nectar, and an insect or spider, by moving its tongue rapidly in. In the process of feeding, the bird picks up pollen on its bill, when it flies from flower to flower, it transfers the pollen. In this way, it plays an important role in plant reproduction, in one day, the bee hummingbird may visit 1,500 flowers. Using bits of cobwebs, bark, and lichen, the bee hummingbird builds a cup-shaped nest that is only about 2.5 cm in diameter. Nests have been built on single clothespins and she lines the nest with soft plant fibers. In this nest she lays her eggs, which are no bigger than peas and she alone incubates the eggs and raises the young. The bee hummingbird has been reported to visit 15 plant species from 15 different genera, however, in more recent studies, only 10 were found, nine of them were found to be endemic to Cuba. Mellisuga helenae is endemic to the entire Cuban archipelago, including the island of Cuba. It is found mainly in Cubas mogote area and uncommonly in Playa Larga near Zapata swamp, the bee hummingbirds breeding season is from March–June
22.
Cuban crocodile
–
The Cuban crocodile is a small species of crocodile found only in Cuba. Typical length is 2. 1–2.3 m and typical weight 70–80 kg, large males can reach as much as 3.5 m in length and weigh more than 215 kg. Despite its modest size, it is an aggressive animal. The Cuban crocodile is of interest to biologists for its physical and behavioral traits. Long- and strong-legged, it is the most terrestrial of extant crocodiles and its preferred habitat comprises freshwater environments such as marshes and rivers. There, the adults feed on fish, turtles and small mammals, while the young eat invertebrates, mating occurs between May and July. Captive animals have displayed cooperative hunting behavior and could be taught tricks, the Cuban crocodile is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Once spread across the Caribbean, its range has dwindled to including only the Zapata Swamp, captive breeding projects are in place to help the species recover. The Cuban crocodile has numerous characteristics that set it apart from other crocodilians, such as its brighter adult colors, rougher, more pebbled scales and this is a small to mid-sized crocodilian. Typical adults were found to have measured 2. 1–2.3 m in length, large males can reach as much as 3.5 m in length and weigh 215 kg or more. Today, the Cuban crocodile can only be found in Cubas Zapata Swamp and the Isle of Youth and it formerly ranged elsewhere in the Caribbean. Fossils of this species have found in the Cayman Islands. The Cuban crocodile appears to favor freshwater habitat such as swamps, marshes and this species has been observed to display interesting behavior that other crocodilians do not. The behavior has prompted much interest in the species, usually kept singly and this species is also the most terrestrial of crocodiles, and also possibly the most intelligent. Small fish, arthropods, and crustaceans make up the diet of young Cuban crocodiles, adults of the species feed mostly upon small mammals, fish, and turtles. They have blunt rear teeth, which aid in crushing the shells of their turtle prey, Cuban crocodiles also demonstrate the jumping feeding technique seen in other crocodilians such as the American alligator. By thrusting with their tails, they can leap from the water. Data regarding attacks on humans are limited, but occurrences are likely rare given the very small distribution area
23.
Isla de la Juventud
–
Isla de la Juventud is the second-largest Cuban island and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies. The island was called the Isle of Pines until 1978 and it has an area 2,200 km2 and is 50 km south of the island of Cuba, across the Gulf of Batabanó. The island lies almost directly south of Havana and Pinar del Río and is a Special Municipality, the island has only one municipality, also named Isla de la Juventud. The largest of the 350 islands in the Canarreos Archipelago, the island has an population of 100,000. The capital and largest city is Nueva Gerona in the north, other communities include Columbia, La Demajagua, Mac Kinley, Cuchilla Alta, Punta del Este, Sierra de Caballos and Sierra de Casas. Little is known of the history of the island, though a cave complex near the Punta del Este beach preserves 235 ancient drawings made by the native population. The island first became known to Europeans in 1494 during Christopher Columbuss second voyage to the New World, columbus named the island La Evangelista and claimed it for Spain. The island was known as Isla de Cotorras and Isla de Tesoros at various points in its history. Pirate activity in and around the left its trace in English literature. Following its defeat in the Spanish–American War and the Cuban War of Independence, the Platt Amendment of 1901, which defined Cubas boundaries for the purposes of U. S. authorities, left the ownership of Isla de la Juventud undetermined. This led to competing claims to the island by the United States, in 1907, the U. S. Supreme Court decided, in Pearcy v. Stranahan, that control of the island was a political decision, not a judicial one. In 1916, a pamphlet titled Isle of Pines, American or What, called for the U. S. to annex or purchase the island to settle the issue. In 1904, Cuba and the United States negotiated and signed the Hay-Quesada Treaty, which recognized Cubas ownership of the island. The U. S. Senate ratified this agreement on March 13,1925, over the objections of some four hundred United States citizens and companies, prior to 1976, the island was part of La Habana Province. With the political and administrative reorganization of Cuban provinces in 1976, the island was given the status of special municipality. Fidel Castro presided at a changing the name of the island from Isla de Pinos to Isla de la Juventud on 3 August 1978. ”Much of the island is covered in pine forests. The northern region of the island has low ridges from which marble is quarried, agriculture and fishing are the islands main industries, with citrus fruit and vegetables being grown. A black sand beach was formed by volcanic activity, the island has a mild climate, but is known for frequent hurricanes
24.
Environmentalism
–
While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologism combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. ‘Ecologism’ is more used in continental European languages while ‘environmentalism’ is more commonly used in English. For this reason, concepts such as an ethic, environmental ethics, biodiversity, ecology. The exact measures and outcomes of this balance is controversial and there are different ways for environmental concerns to be expressed in practice. Environmentalism and environmental concerns are represented by the color green. Environmentalism denotes a movement that seeks to influence the political process by lobbying, activism. The word was first coined in 1922, an environmentalist is a person who may speak out about our natural environment and the sustainable management of its resources through changes in public policy or individual behavior. In various ways, environmentalists and environmental organizations seek to give the world a stronger voice in human affairs. In general terms, environmentalists advocate the sustainable management of resources, in its recognition of humanity as a participant in ecosystems, the movement is centered around ecology, health, and human rights. A concern for environmental protection has recurred in diverse forms, in different parts of the world, for example, in Europe, King Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London in 1272, after its smoke had become a problem. The fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow. Earlier in the Middle East, the Caliph Abu Bakr in the 630s commanded his army to Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, at the advent of steam and electricity the muse of history holds her nose and shuts her eyes. The origins of the movement lay in the response to increasing levels of smoke pollution in the atmosphere during the Industrial Revolution. An Alkali inspector and four sub-inspectors were appointed to curb this pollution, typically the highest priority went to water and air pollution. The Coal Smoke Abatement Society was formed in 1898 making it one of the oldest environmental NGOs and it was founded by artist Sir William Blake Richmond, frustrated with the pall cast by coal smoke. Although there were pieces of legislation, the Public Health Act 1875 required all furnaces and fireplaces to consume their own smoke. It also provided for sanctions against factories that emitted large amounts of black smoke, financial incentives were offered to householders to replace open coal fires with alternatives, or for those who preferred, to burn coke instead which produces minimal smoke. Smoke control areas were introduced in some towns and cities in which only smokeless fuels could be burnt, the act formed an important impetus to modern environmentalism, and caused a rethinking of the dangers of environmental degradation to peoples quality of life
25.
Animal sanctuary
–
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, the mission of sanctuaries is generally to be safe havens, where the animals receive the best care that the sanctuaries can provide. Animals are not bought, sold, or traded, nor are they used for animal testing, the resident animals are given the opportunity to behave as natural as possible in a protective environment. What distinguishes a sanctuary from other institutions is the philosophy that the residents come first, in a sanctuary, every action is scrutinized for any trace of human benefit at the expense of non-human residents. Sanctuaries act on behalf of the animals, and the work under the notion that all animals in the sanctuary. A sanctuary is not open to the public in the sense of a zoo, that is, a sanctuary tries not to allow any activity that would place the animals in an unduly stressful situation. One of the most important missions of sanctuaries, beyond caring for the animals, is educating the public, the ultimate goal of many sanctuaries is to change the way that humans think of, and treat, non-human animals
26.
Antilles
–
See also West Indies, Caribbean The Antilles are an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Lucayan Archipelago, though part of the West Indies, are not included among the Antillean islands. Geographically, the Antillean islands are considered a subregion of North America. In terms of geology, the Greater Antilles are made up of rock, as distinct from the Lesser Antilles. The Antilles were called multiple names before their current name became the norm, early Spanish visitors called them the Windward Islands. They were also called the Forward Islands by 18th-century British, thereafter, the term Antilles was commonly assigned to the formation, and Sea of the Antilles became a common alternative name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages. The Antilles were described in 1778 by Thomas Kitchin as once being called the Caribbee Isles in homage to the Carib people who were the islands first inhabitants. S
27.
Latitude
–
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the Earths surface. Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the poles, lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the location of features on the surface of the Earth. Without qualification the term latitude should be taken to be the latitude as defined in the following sections. Also defined are six auxiliary latitudes which are used in special applications, there is a separate article on the History of latitude measurements. Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definition of latitude and longitude, in the first step the physical surface is modelled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oceans and its continuation under the land masses. The second step is to approximate the geoid by a mathematically simpler reference surface, the simplest choice for the reference surface is a sphere, but the geoid is more accurately modelled by an ellipsoid. The definitions of latitude and longitude on such surfaces are detailed in the following sections. Lines of constant latitude and longitude together constitute a graticule on the reference surface, latitude and longitude together with some specification of height constitute a geographic coordinate system as defined in the specification of the ISO19111 standard. This is of importance in accurate applications, such as a Global Positioning System, but in common usage, where high accuracy is not required. In English texts the latitude angle, defined below, is denoted by the Greek lower-case letter phi. It is measured in degrees, minutes and seconds or decimal degrees, the precise measurement of latitude requires an understanding of the gravitational field of the Earth, either to set up theodolites or to determine GPS satellite orbits. The study of the figure of the Earth together with its field is the science of geodesy. These topics are not discussed in this article and this article relates to coordinate systems for the Earth, it may be extended to cover the Moon, planets and other celestial objects by a simple change of nomenclature. The primary reference points are the poles where the axis of rotation of the Earth intersects the reference surface, the plane through the centre of the Earth and perpendicular to the rotation axis intersects the surface at a great circle called the Equator. Planes parallel to the plane intersect the surface in circles of constant latitude. The Equator has a latitude of 0°, the North Pole has a latitude of 90° North, the latitude of an arbitrary point is the angle between the equatorial plane and the radius to that point. The latitude, as defined in this way for the sphere, is termed the spherical latitude
28.
Acre
–
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is defined as the area of 1 chain by 1 furlong, lucia, St. Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos, the United Kingdom, the United States and the US Virgin Islands. The international symbol of the acre is ac, the most commonly used acre today is the international acre. In the United States both the international acre and the US survey acre are in use, but differ by two parts per million, see below. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land, one international acre is defined as exactly 4,046.8564224 square metres. An acre was defined in the Middle Ages, being the amount of land that could be ploughed in one day with a yoke of oxen. One acre equals 0.0015625 square miles,4,840 square yards,43,560 square feet or about 4,047 square metres. While all modern variants of the acre contain 4,840 square yards, there are definitions of a yard. A square enclosing one acre is approximately 69.57 yards, as a unit of measure, an acre has no prescribed shape, any area of 43,560 square feet is an acre. In the international yard and pound agreement of 1959 the United States, consequently, the international acre is exactly 4,046.8564224 square metres. The US survey acre is about 4,046.872609874252 square metres, its value is based on an inch defined by 1 metre =39.37 inches exactly. Surveyors in the United States use both international and survey feet, and consequently, both varieties of acre. Since the difference between the US survey acre and international acre is only about a quarter of the size of an A4 sheet of paper, areas are seldom measured with sufficient accuracy for the different definitions to be detectable. In India, residential plots are measured in cents or decimal, in Sri Lanka the division of an acre into 160 perches or 4 roods is common. To be more exact, one acre is 90.75 percent of a 100 yards long by 53.33 yards wide American football field, the full field, including the end zones, covers approximately 1.32 acres. For residents of countries, the acre might be envisaged as approximately half of a 105 metres long by 68 metres wide association football pitch. It may also be remembered as 44,000 square feet, in English it was historically spelled aker. The acre was approximately the amount of land tillable by a yoke of oxen in one day and this explains one definition as the area of a rectangle with sides of length one chain and one furlong
29.
Salt marsh
–
It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes play a role in the aquatic food web. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection, salt marshes occur on low-energy shorelines in temperate and high-latitudes which can be stable or emerging, or submerging if the sedimentation rate exceeds the subsidence rate. Commonly these shorelines consist of mud or sand flats which are nourished with sediment from inflowing rivers and these typically include sheltered environments such as embankments, estuaries and the leeward side of barrier islands and spits. In the tropics and sub-tropics they are replaced by mangroves, an area that differs from a marsh in that instead of herbaceous plants. Most salt marshes have a low topography with low elevations but a vast wide area, salt marshes are located among different landforms based on their physical and geomorphological settings. Such marsh landforms include deltaic marshes, estuarine, back-barrier, open coast, embayments, deltaic marshes are associated with large rivers where many occur in Southern Europe such as the Camargue, France in the Rhone delta or the Ebro delta in Spain. They are also extensive within the rivers of the Mississippi Delta in the United States, in New Zealand, most salt marshes occur at the head of estuaries in areas where there is little wave action and high sedimentation. Such marshes are located in Awhitu Regional Park in Auckland, the Manawatu Estuary, back-barrier marshes are sensitive to the reshaping of barriers in the landward side of which they have been formed. They are common along much of the eastern coast of the United States, large, shallow coastal embayments can hold salt marshes with examples including Morecambe Bay and Portsmouth in Britain and the Bay of Fundy in North America. They have a big impact on the biodiversity of the area, salt marsh ecology involves complex food webs which include primary producers, primary consumers, and secondary consumers. The low physical energy and high grasses provide a refuge for animals, many marine fish use salt marshes as nursery grounds for their young before they move to open waters. Saltmarshes across 99 countries were mapped by Mcowen et al, a total of 5,495,089 hectares of mapped saltmarsh across 43 countries and territories are represented in a Geographic Information Systems polygon shapefile. This estimate is at the low end of previous estimates. Mats of filamentous blue-green algae can fix silt and clay sized sediment particles to their sticky sheaths on contact which can increase the erosion resistance of the sediments. This assists the process of sediment accretion to allow colonising species to grow, as a result, competitive species that prefer higher elevations relative to sea level can inhabit the area and often a succession of plant communities develops. Coastal salt marshes can be distinguished from terrestrial habitats by the tidal flow that occurs
30.
Bay of Pigs
–
The Bay of Pigs is an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones located on the southern coast of Cuba. This bay is approximately 30 kilometers South of Jagüey Grande,70 kilometers west of the city of Cienfuegos, on the western side of the bay, coral reefs border the main Zapata Swamp, part of the Zapata Peninsula. On the eastern side, beaches border margins of firm ground with mangroves and extensive areas of swampland to the north, at the north end of the bay, the village of Buena Ventura is adjacent to Playa Larga. 35 kilometers southeast of that, Playa Girón at the village of Girón, in Cuban Spanish, cochinos may also mean the queen triggerfish, which inhabits coral reefs in Bahía de Cochinos, not swine. Geography of Cuba Rodriguez, Juan Carlos, Bay of Pigs – The Untold Story. ISBN 0-671-24006-4 ISBN0224017543 ISBN 978-0-671-24006-6
31.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
–
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on 17 April 1961. Launched from Guatemala and Nicaragua, the force was defeated within three days by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, under the direct command of Prime Minister Fidel Castro. The Presidential coup of 1952 led by General Fulgencio Batista, against President Carlos Prio, President Prios exile was the reason for the 26th July Movement led by Fidel Castro. The movement, which did not succeed until after the Cuban Revolution of December 31,1958, severed the countrys formerly strong links with the US after nationalizing American economic assets. It was after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, that Fidel Castro forged strong links with the Soviet Union, with whom, at the time. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was very concerned at the direction Castros government was taking, the CIA proceeded to organize the operation with the aid of various Cuban counter-revolutionary forces, training Brigade 2506 in Guatemala. Eisenhowers successor John F. Kennedy approved the invasion plan on 4 April 1961. Over 1,400 paramilitaries, divided into five battalions and one paratrooper battalion. Two days later, on 15 April, eight CIA-supplied B-26 bombers attacked Cuban airfields, on the night of 16 April, the main invasion landed at a beach named Playa Girón in the Bay of Pigs. It initially overwhelmed a local revolutionary militia, the Cuban Armys counter-offensive was led by José Ramón Fernández, before Castro decided to take personal control of the operation. As the US involvement became apparent to the world, Kennedy decided against providing further air cover for the invasion, as a result, the operation only had half the forces the CIA had deemed necessary. The original plan devised during Eisenhowers presidency had required both air and naval support, on 20 April, the invaders surrendered after only three days, with the majority being publicly interrogated and put into Cuban prisons. The failed invasion helped to strengthen the position of Castros leadership, made him a national hero and it also strengthened the relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union. This eventually led to the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the invasion was a major failure for US foreign policy, Kennedy ordered a number of internal investigations across Latin America. Cuban forces under Castros leadership clashed directly with US forces during the Invasion of Grenada over 20 years later, for centuries, Cuba was home of the Spanish Empire. The US subsequently invaded the island, and forced the Spanish army out, subsequently, large numbers of US settlers and businessmen arrived in Cuba, and by 1905, 60% of rural properties were owned by non-Cuban North Americans. Between 1906 and 1909,5,000 US Marines were stationed across the island, many opponents of the Batista regime took to armed rebellion in an attempt to oust the government, sparking the Cuban Revolution. Another was the Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil, which had been founded by the Federation of University Students President José Antonio Echevarría, however, the best known of these anti-Batista groups was the 26th of July Movement, founded by a lawyer named Fidel Castro
32.
Geography of Cuba
–
Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Cuba has an area of 109,884 km2. Its area is 110,860 km2 including coastal and territorial waters. The main island has 5,746 km of coastline and 28.5 km of land borders — all figures including the United States territory at Guantánamo Bay, where the U. S. Navys Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located. Cuba lies west of the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Gulf of Mexico, south of the Straits of Florida, northwest of the Windward Passage, the main island makes up most of the land area 104,556 km2. The island is 1,250 km long and 191 km across its widest points and 31 km across its narrowest points, the largest island outside the main island is the Isla de la Juventud in the southwest, with an area of 2,200 km2. Cuba is located 77 km west of Haiti across the Windward Passage,21 km south of the Bahamas,150 km south of Florida,210 km east of Mexico, Cuba is the largest country by land area in the Caribbean. Its main island is the seventeenth-largest island in the world by land area, the island rises between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered on the north by the Straits of Florida, on the northeast by Nicholas Channel, the southern part is bounded by the Windward Passage and the Cayman Trench, while the southwest lies in the Caribbean Sea. To the west, it reaches to the Yucatan Channel, more than 4,000 islands and cays are found in the surrounding sea and bays. The southern coast includes such archipelagos as Jardines de la Reina, the northeastern shore is lined by the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, which includes Jardines del Rey and is composed of approximately 2,517 cays and islands. The Colorados Archipelago is developed on the north-western coast, terrain is mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast. The lowest point is the Caribbean Sea at 0 m and the highest point is Pico Turquino at 1,974 m, part of the Sierra Maestra mountain range, located in the southeast of the island. Other mountain ranges are Sierra Cristal in the southeast, Escambray Mountains in the center of the island, white sand beaches, as well as mangroves and marshes can be found in the coastal area. The largest is the Zapata Swamp, with over 4,520 km2, Cuba has negligible inland water area. The largest natural water mirror is Laguna de Leche at 67.2 km2, while the man-made Zaza Reservoir, Cuba makes maritime claims that include a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles and an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles. Extreme points in Cuba are, Natural resources include cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, salt, timber, silica, oil and petroleum. At one time, the island was covered with forests and there are still many cedar, chechem, mahogany
33.
Protected area
–
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the laws of each country or the regulations of the international organisations involved. There are over 161,000 protected areas in the world with more added daily, by contrast, only 1. 17% of the worlds oceans is included in the worlds ~6,800 Marine Protected Areas. Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation, often providing habitat, Protection helps maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes. Generally, protected areas are understood to be those in human occupation or at least the exploitation of resources is limited. As a result, Protected Areas can encompass a range of governance types. Indeed, governance of protected areas has emerged a critical factor in their success, subsequently, the range of natural resources that any one protected area may guard is vast. Of all global terrestrial carbon stock,15. 2% is contained within protected areas, Protected areas in South America hold 27% of the worlds carbon stock, which is the highest percentage of any country in both absolute terms and as a proportion of the total stock. Rainforests,18. 8% of the worlds forest is covered by protected areas, of the 670 ecoregions with forest cover, 54% have 10% or more of their forest cover protected under IUCN Categories I – VI. Mountain protected area coverage has increased globally by 21% since 1990, the categories provide international standards for defining protected areas and encourage conservation planning according to their management aims. Protecting places and resources is by no means a modern concept, over 2000 years ago, royal decrees in India protected certain areas. In Europe, rich and powerful people protected hunting grounds for a thousand years, moreover, the idea of protection of special places is universal, for example, it occurs among the communities in the Pacific and in parts of Africa. However, the protected areas movement doesnt begin until late nineteenth-century in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. While the idea of protected areas spread around the world in the twentieth century, thus, in North America, protected areas were about safeguarding dramatic and sublime scenery, in Africa, the concern was with game parks, in Europe, landscape protection was more common. The spectrum of benefits and values of protected areas is recognised not only ecologically, international programmes for the protection of representative ecosystems remain relatively progressive, with less advances in marine and freshwater biomes. There is increasing pressure to take account of human needs when setting up protected areas. Such negotiations are never easy but usually stronger and longer-lasting results for both conservation and people. In some countries, protected areas can be assigned without the infrastructure and networking needed to substitute consumable resources, one of the main concerns regarding protected areas on land and sea is their effectiveness at preventing the ongoing loss of biodiversity
34.
Calimete
–
Calimete is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1867 by José Antonio Castañeda, in 2004, the municipality of Calimete had a population of 29,736. With a total area of 958 km2, it has a density of 31. 0/km2. Municipalities of Cuba List of cities in Cuba Media related to Calimete at Wikimedia Commons
35.
Varadero
–
Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. It is situated on the Hicacos Peninsula, between the Bay of Cárdenas and the Straits of Florida, some 140 km east of Havana, the peninsula is only 1.2 km wide at its widest point and is separated from the island of Cuba by the Kawama Channel. This spit of land however extends more than 20 kilometers from the mainland in a direction and its tip. At the northeastern end of the peninsula there is a reserve with virgin forests. The Hicacos Point Natural Park is a 3.12 km2 ecological preserve established in 1974 and it contains the 250 m long Cave of Ambrosio, Mangón Lake and the ruins of the La Calavera Salt Works. The cays developed off shore, such as Cayo Piedras and Cayo Cruz del Padre are the westernmost part of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago, juan Gualberto Gómez Airport, situated west of the peninsula, is Varaderos airport. It is the second-most-important airport of the island after José Martí Airport in Havana, Varadero was mentioned for the first time in 1555. The place was first used as a dry dock and the mines of the peninsula supplied most of the Spanish Latin America Fleet since 1587. It was established as municipality at the administrative re-distribution of July 3,1976 from territories previously part of Cárdenas, in August 2010, the Varadero municipality was abolished according to a Law approved by the Cuban National Assembly, becoming again part of the Cárdenas municipality. Varadero is best known as a tourist resort town, with more than 20 km of sandy beaches. The first tourists visited Varadero as early as the 1870s, in 1910 the annual rowing regatta was started, five years later the first hotel, named Varadero, which later was renamed as Club Nautico, was built. Tourism grew in the early 1930s as Irénée du Pont, an American millionaire, many famous and infamous people stayed in Varadero, for example, Al Capone. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many mansions were expropriated from their rich owners, as a symbol of the new integrated tourism for Cubans and foreign visitors of all social classes, the Park of the 8000 Cubicles was built in 1960. Visitors could leave their belongings in the basement of the park, had access to sanitary installations and gastronomic services on the first floor, the surroundings of the park became the center of the city. Between the 1960s and 1980s Varadero transformed itself into a cultural centre, during those years the central park saw countless concerts, festivals and sporting events. The 1990s brought the start of another building campaign, mostly in the 4-star and 5-star segment. Many of the hotels are operated or co-owned by foreign businesses like Meliá, Barceló, TRYP, as international tourism was opened up, the local population expanded with the arrival of people, some in key economic positions, from other parts of Cuba. As a consequence, Varadero has lost much of its social and cultural life, the central park, the cinema and various cultural meeting places were neglected in favor of a hotel-centred all-inclusive-tourism and finally closed
36.
Jovellanos
–
Jovellanos is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. The municipality is divided into the barrios of Asunción, Isabel, Realengo and it was founded in 1842 as Corral de la Bemba on the location of an old ranch called Bemba. It took its current name in 1870, in honor of the Spanish writer Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, the same year it achieved the status of villa. Jovellanos is also called Bemba by its inhabitants and locals, Bemba means big lip in Cuban Spanish, this term refers to the black population of the city. To outsiders, it may have negative racial overtones, but in the city this is not the case, inside Jovellanos, the black and white population for the most part live harmoniously, side by side. Therefore, Bemba is a name for the town used by locals. Jovellanos is a town, with large and small factories. In 2004, the municipality of Jovellanos had a population of 58,685, with a total area of 505 km2, it has a population density of 116. 2/km2. Municipalities of Cuba List of cities in Cuba Media related to Jovellanos at Wikimedia Commons
37.
Limonar
–
Limonar is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. The municipality is divided into the barrios of Canímar, Guamacaro, Caoba, Sumidero, Coliseo, established in 1876 as Guamacaro, the name was changed to Limonar in the 1950s, when it achieved municipality status. Limonar is the hometown of jumpers Javier Sotomayor and Marino Drake as well as baseball player Silvio García. In 2004, the municipality of Limonar had a population of 25,421, with a total area of 449 km2, it has a population density of 56. 6/km2. Municipalities of Cuba List of cities in Cuba Media related to Limonar at Wikimedia Commons
38.
Los Arabos
–
Los Arabos is a municipality and town in the Matanzas Province of Cuba. It is located in the part of the province, bordering the province of Villa Clara. The municipality is divided into the barrios of Cabecera, Macagua, Monte Alto, in 2004, the municipality of Los Arabos had a population of 25,702. With a total area of 762 km2, it has a density of 33. 7/km2. Municipalities of Cuba List of cities in Cuba Media related to Los Arabos at Wikimedia Commons
Cuba.png)
