CIENFUEGOS

provincia, south-central Cuba, bounded by the provincias of Villa Clara to the northeast, Matanzas to the west, Sancti Spritus to the southeast, and to the south by the Caribbean Sea. The territory of 1,613 square miles (4,178 square km) consists of a fertile coastal plain, indented by the excellent harbour formed by the Cienfuegos Bay. In the southeast, the Sierra de Trinidad rises to San Juan Peak, 3,793 feet (1,156 m) above sea level. Sugarcane is grown in much of the province; rice cultivation is centred near Aguada de Pasajeros. The province also produces coffee, tobacco, henequen, fruits, and cattle. Sugar refineries, coffee- and tobacco-processing plants, and distilleries are the main industries, centring on Cienfuegos (q.v.) city, the provincial capital and major national export and fishing port. Pop. (1989 est.) 358,600. city, capital of Cienfuegos provincia, central Cuba; one of the nation's chief ports, it stands on a broad, level peninsula opposite the narrow entrance to the sheltered Baha (bay) de Cienfuegos. It is built on a rectangular pattern with wide streets, numerous parks and promenades, and attractive buildings. The bay was visited by Christopher Columbus in 1494 but attracted no permanent settlement until 1738; the Castillo (castle) de Jagua fortress was completed in 1745 at the entrance to the bay as protection against pirates. The city was actually founded in 1819 as Fernandina de Jagua by French colonists. Destroyed by a storm in 1825, the settlement was rebuilt and renamed in honour of a participant in its founding. Now serving as the trading centre for the fertile lands of the southern province, it has become one of the most prosperous and modern cities of Cuba. In addition to large quantities of sugarcane, the hinterland produces significant amounts of coffee, tobacco, henequen, rice, fruit, and livestock. A major part of Cuba's shrimp trawlers operate out of Cienfuegos. The main industries in the city are coffee- and tobacco-processing plants, distilleries, and fish canneries. Cienfuegos also has a fertilizer factory and a thermoelectric plant. Sugar and molasses are the principal exports, the city's port handling the bulk of the nation's sugar exports. Cienfuegos is well served by railways, highways, and domestic airlines. Pop. (1981 prelim.) 107,396.