CIEGO DE VILA

city, capital of Ciego de vila provincia, east-central Cuba. It is a major commercial, manufacturing, and transportation centre for the surrounding agricultural and pastoral lands, which are known primarily for sugarcane, although tropical fruits, beeswax and honey, molasses, and cattle are also produced. The city contains sawmills, distilleries, bottling plants, and factories producing dried, salted beef. Sugar refineries and a thermal power plant are located nearby. Ciego de vila lies on the central highway and a major railroad; its port, Jcaro, lies 15 miles (24 km) south-southwest on the Caribbean Sea. Pop. (1989 est.) 86,100. provincia, central Cuba, bordered on the north by the Old Bahama Channel and by the provincia of Sancti Spritus on the west, Camagey on the east, and on the south by the Gulf of Ana Mara, an inlet of the Caribbean Sea. It has an area of 2,668 square miles (6,910 square km). Its northern coast consists of large cays constituting the western part of the Sabana-Camagey Archipelago. The gently rolling savannas of the mainland give way to swamps along the southern coast of the province. Sugarcane, tobacco, and citrus fruits are grown, and cattle are raised. In the north, coffee and cacao are also harvested. Industry, including sugar refineries, sawmills, distilleries, and bottling plants, centres on Ciego de vila (q.v.) city, the provincial capital. Pop. (1989 est.) 358,100.