Colorados Archipelago
Los Colorados Archipelago (Spanish: Archipiélago de los Colorados, also called Archipiélago de Santa Isabel and Archipiélago de Guaniguanico) is a chain of isles and cays on Cuba's north-western coast.[1] A coral reef extending at least the length of the archipelago separates it from the Gulf of Mexico.[1][2]
Geography
[edit]The archipelago is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi)[3][4] long and is composed of 160[5] small cays, including Cayo Levisa, Cayo Arenas, Cayo Jutias, Punta Tabaco, Cabezo Seco, Cayo Paraiso, Cayo Buenavista, Banco Sancho Pardo, Cayo Rapado Grande, and Cayo Alacranes. It is located off the northern coast of Pinar del Río Province,[6] facing the Gulf of Mexico, between Honda Bay (north of the community of Bahia Honda) and Cape San Antonio on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula.[2] It is divided into two sections: western and east.[2]
A barrier coral reef to its north, 120 miles (190 km) long, extends the entire length of the archipelago, separating it from the Gulf of Mexico.[1] The channel between the two is navigable throughout.[1]
Reef
[edit]The reef covers an area of 165 square kilometres (64 sq mi).[2] It is relatively healthy due to its isolated location and the low population of coastal communities.[7]
Stephanocoenia intersepta is the most abundant coral species, which is not the case of any other known Cuban reef.[7]
Economic activity
[edit]The sea surrounding the sparsely populated islands is used mainly for fishing, with commercial catches of lobsters, sponges, oysters, red snapper and tuna.[3] Small fishing vessels targeting snappers, groupers and jacks present a danger of overfishing.[6]
Tourism is also developing on cays such as Cayo Levisa, where white sand beaches, snorkeling and diving sites attract tourists.[8]
Conservation
[edit]In 2022, Cuba made the Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados (East Los Colorados Archipelago) a Marine Protected Area (MPA), 291 square miles (750 km2) "of vibrant mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and climate-resilient corals - plus spawning sites for several economically important species of groupers and mutton, cubera, and gray snappers",[5] as well as the endangered hawksbill sea turtle.[4] Fishing is prohibited in a section of the MPA called the Corona San Carlos Wildlife Refuge, with an area of 272 square kilometres (105 sq mi).[4][5]
Table of major islands
[edit]| Island | Capital | More islands | Area (km2, Census 2012) | Population (Census 2012) | |
| Banco Sancho Pardo | 0.1 | 0 | |||
| Cayo Alacranes | Punta Casiguas | Medano, Punta Alcaranes | 4.4 | 0 | |
| Cayo Buenavista | Punta Del Oeste | Punta del este | 14.9 | 0 | |
| Cayo Ines de Soto | Playuelas | La Pasa de la legua, Punta Brava, cayo redondo, Cayo Legua, cayo Pescador, Punta Hicacel, Cayo Prieto, Punta Boquerones | 6.23 | 0 | |
| Cayo Jutías | Playa Santa Lucia | 4 | 0 | ||
| Cayo Levisa | Cayo Levisa | Punta Bailarina, Playa Sur | 2.5 | 5 | |
| Cayo Rapado Grande | Playa Cedro | Punta Vinagrera, Punta Remagillal, Punta Perche, La Playita | 5.47 | 0 | |
| Cayos Punta Tabaco | Cayo diego | Cayo De Limones | 2.21 | 0 | |
| Other islands | Cayo Curoita | Cayo Catalanes, Cayo Dios, Cayo Arenas, Cayo Cabezo Seco, Cayo Paraiso | 3.4 | 0 | |
| Colorados Archipelago | pueblo Cayo Levisa | Cayo Jutias | 43.3 | 5 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 "Arrecifes Colorados". GulfBase. Archived from the original on 3 November 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 Zlatarski, Vassil N.; Reed, John K.; Pomponi, Shirley A.; Brooke, Sandra; Farrington, Stephanie (eds.). Coral Reefs of Cuba. Springer. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-3-031-36718-2. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- 1 2 Encarta (spanish). "Archipiélago de los Colorados" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- 1 2 3 "July 17, 2024 - Western Cuba and the Colorados Archipelago". NASA. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Cuba Names East Los Colorados Archipelago a New Protected Area (English and Spanish)". Wildlife Conservation Society. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- 1 2 Gregorutti, Gustavo; Svenson, Nanette, eds. (2018). North-South University Research Partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-75363-8. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- 1 2 Gil-Agudelo, Diego L.; Cintra-Buenrostro, Carlos E.; Brenner, Jorge; González, Patricia; Kiene, William; Lustic, Caitlin; Pérez-España, Horacio (13 January 2020). "Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem: Conservation Status, Challenges, and Opportunities". Frontiers in Marine Science. 6. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ↑ O'Neal, Rob (2 August 2018). "Under the Cuban sun". Key West Citizen. Retrieved 12 May 2026.