Matanzas Province

Among Cuban provinces, Matanzas is one of the most industrialized, with petroleum wells, refineries, supertanker facilities, and 21 sugar mills to process the harvests of the fields of sugarcane in the province.

• Name — Matanzas Province • Settlement Type — Province of Cuba • Image Skyline — Matanzas_provincial_sign.jpg • Image Caption — Sign seen when entering the Province • Image Shield — Coat_of_arms_of_Matanzas_Province.jpg • Image Map — Matanzas in Cuba.svg • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Cuba • Seat Type — Capital • Seat — Matanzas • Parts Type — Municipalities • Parts Style — para • Leader Title — President • Leader Name — Mario Felipe Sabines Lorenzo • Unit Pref — Metric • Area Total Km2 — 11798.02 • Population Total — 710,127 • Population As Of — 2021-12-31 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Blank Name Sec2 — HDI (2019) • Blank Info Sec2 — 0.789 high · 4th of 16 • Timezone1 — EST • Utc Offset1 — -5 • Area Code — +53-52 • Iso Code — CU-04 • Website — www.matanceros.gob.cu/es Matanzas (maˈtansas) is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, Matanzas is one of the most industrialized, with petroleum wells, refineries, supertanker facilities, and 21 sugar mills to process the harvests of the fields of sugarcane in the province.

The second largest province in Cuba, Matanzas is largely flat, with its highest point (Pan de Matanzas) at only 380m above sea level. The northwestern coast is largely rocky, with a few beaches, while the northeastern coast has numerous small cays of its coast (part of Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago), and scrubland and mangroves near the shoreline. Cuba's northernmost point is located on the Hicacos Peninsula. The southern coast has one of Cuba's 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 peninsula lies the Bay of Pigs, the site of the failed U.S.-backed invasion.

From 1976 to 2010, Matanzas was subdivided into 14 municipalities. Starting from 2011, the municipality of Varadero was abolished and merged to Cárdenas. Thus, Matanzas now has 13 municipalities. • Municipality — Population (2004) — Population (2022) — Area (km²) — Location — Remarks • Calimete — • Cárdenas — • Cienaga de Zapata — — Playa Larga • Colón — • Jagüey Grande — • Jovellanos — • Limonar — • Los Arabos — • Martí — • Matanzas — — Province capital • Pedro Betancourt — • Perico — • Unión de Reyes — • Varadero — see Cárdenas — — Abolished in 2010 • ' — ' Source: Population from 2004 Census. Area from 1976 municipal re-distribution.

In 2004, the province of Matanzas had a population of 675,980. With a total area of 11802.72 km2, the province had a population density of 57.3 /km2.