Jardines del Rey
Encyclopedia
Jardines del Rey is an archipelago
located off the northern coast of the island of Cuba
, in the northern parts of the provinces of Ciego de Ávila
and Camagüey
. It is developed on the coral
reef
system that lines Cuba's shore, between the Atlantic
and the Bay of Buena Vista
and Bay of Jiguey. It extends for 200 km (124.3 mi) on a north-west to south-east direction, and is part of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago
.
The Jardines del Rey Airport is located on Cayo Coco. Additional access to Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo is offered by a causeway that connects this islands to mainland Cuba.
Of the many cay
s and islands that compose Jardinas del Rey, the most important are (from north to south):
Other islands include Cayo Santa Maria
, Cayo Paredón Grande and Cayo Cruz.
s to honor king Ferdinand II of Aragon
.
In the 16th century, they were refuges for corsairs and pirates. Jacques de Sores
is supposed to have used it as a base of operations for his attacks of Santiago de Cuba
in 1554. In the 19th century, they were used as a point of entry for illegal slave ships after the slave trade was officially abolished.
Bagá Nature Park was established on December 29, 2002, reclaimed from the land of the former Cayo Coco Airport
. Named for the Baga tree (árbol del pan), it spreads over 69 hectares of forests and lagoons on Cayo Coco as well as on neighboring cays.
It contains an interpretative centre, a walkway through a Bagá forest, a Taíno
village and fauna exhibits (crocodile
s, iguana
s, flamingos and Cuban Hutia
s). The archipelago is a natural habitat for Caribbean Flamingo
s (Phoenicopterus ruber).
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
located off the northern coast of the island of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, in the northern parts of the provinces of Ciego de Ávila
Ciego de Ávila Province
Ciego de Ávila is one of the provinces of Cuba, and was previously part of Camagüey Province. Its capital is Ciego de Ávila, which lies on the Carretera Central , and the second city is Morón, further north....
and Camagüey
Camagüey Province
Camagüey is the largest of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Camagüey. Other towns include Florida and Nuevitas.-Geography:Camagüey is mostly low lying, with no major hills or mountain ranges passing through the province...
. It is developed on the coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
system that lines Cuba's shore, between the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and the Bay of Buena Vista
Bay of Buena Vista
The Bay of Buena Vista is a bay on Cuba's northern Atlantic shore. It is located in the northern part of the provinces of Sancti Spíritus, Villa Clara and Ciego de Ávila, between mainland Cuba and the archipelago that lines its northern coast....
and Bay of Jiguey. It extends for 200 km (124.3 mi) on a north-west to south-east direction, and is part of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago
Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago
Sabana-Camagüey is an archipelago that lines Cuba's north-central Atlantic coast. It is located off the northern coast of the provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey, and is bounded to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, specifically by the Nicholas Channel ...
.
The Jardines del Rey Airport is located on Cayo Coco. Additional access to Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo is offered by a causeway that connects this islands to mainland Cuba.
Cays
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
s and islands that compose Jardinas del Rey, the most important are (from north to south):
- Cayo GuillermoCayo GuillermoCayo Guillermo is a kay of the Jardines del Rey archipelago. It is located on the northern coast of Cuba, between the Bay of Dogs and the Atlantic Ocean..It is part of the Ciego de Ávila Province, and lies in the Morón municipality...
- Cayo CocoCayo CocoCayo Coco is an island in central Cuba, well known for its luxurious all inclusive resorts. It lies within the Ciego de Ávila Province and is part of a chain of islands called Jardines del Rey . The cay is administered by the Morón municipality. It is named for the white ibis, locally called Coco...
- Cayo RomanoCayo RomanoCayo Romano is an island on the northern coast of Cuba, in the province of Camagüey. It is the largest cay of the Jardines del Rey archipelago with 777 km².It is an administrative part of the Esmeralda municipality....
- Cayo GuajabaCayo GuajabaCayo Guajaba is a cay on the northern coast of Cuba, in the province of Camagüey.It is part of Jardines del Rey archipelago, and is located west of Cayo Sabinal, east of Cayo Romano, north of The Bay of la Gloria and borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north.The island is administered as part of...
- Cayo SabinalCayo SabinalCayo Sabinal is a cay on the northern coast of Cuba, in the province of Camagüey. Has an area of 335 km².It is the southrnmost island of the Jardines del Rey archipelago, and is located north of the Bay of Nuevitas , east of Cayo Guajaba and the Bay of la Gloria and borders the Atlantic Ocean to...
Other islands include Cayo Santa Maria
Cayo Santa Maria
Cayo Santa Maria is an island located north of Cuba in the Jardines del Rey archipelago well known for its luxury all inclusive resorts.The principal buildings on the island are five large hotels, on the northern shore where there are extensive beaches...
, Cayo Paredón Grande and Cayo Cruz.
History
The islands were named in 1513 by Spanish conquistadorConquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s to honor king Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
.
In the 16th century, they were refuges for corsairs and pirates. Jacques de Sores
Jacques de Sores
Jacques de Sores was a French pirate who attacked and burnt Havana, Cuba in 1555.Other than his attack on Havana, little is known of de Sores. He was nicknamed "The Exterminating Angel"...
is supposed to have used it as a base of operations for his attacks of Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
in 1554. In the 19th century, they were used as a point of entry for illegal slave ships after the slave trade was officially abolished.
El Bagá Nature Park
Cayo Coco Airport
Jardines del Rey Airport is an airport situated on the Island of Cayo Coco, in the Ciego de Ávila Province, Cuba. The airport was inaugurated on December 26, 2002, replacing the earlier Cayo Coco Airport to the west. The airport is the only one in Cuba that has a shared administration with Aena,...
. Named for the Baga tree (árbol del pan), it spreads over 69 hectares of forests and lagoons on Cayo Coco as well as on neighboring cays.
It contains an interpretative centre, a walkway through a Bagá forest, a Taíno
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
village and fauna exhibits (crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s, iguana
Iguana
Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...
s, flamingos and Cuban Hutia
Desmarest's Hutia
Desmarest's Hutia, Capromys pilorides, also known as the Cuban Hutia, is a species of hutia endemic to Cuba. Growing to 60 cm , it is the largest of the extant hutia species, and is abundant throughout its range....
s). The archipelago is a natural habitat for Caribbean Flamingo
Caribbean Flamingo
The American Flamingo is a large species of flamingo closely related to the Greater Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Greater Flamingo, but that treatment is now widely viewed as incorrect due to a lack of evidence...
s (Phoenicopterus ruber).