PINAR DEL RO

city, capital of Pinar del Ro provincia, western Cuba. Founded in 1775, the city is situated near the base of the Sierra de los rganos. In 1800 it was officially named Nueva Filipina and was made capital of the western jurisdiction of Cuba. Its economic importance dates from about 1830, when the tobacco industry of the Vuelta Abajo region was developed. With the completion of the railroad from Havana came the development of Pinar del Ro as a commercial centre for the hinterland, which yields tobacco, sugarcane, rice, pineapples, coffee, and livestock. The city's industrial activity centres on the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, and furniture, and it has a small thermal-power plant. Pinar del Ro is also the western terminus of the central highway. Pop. (1991 est.) 124,100. provincia, western Cuba, bounded on the north by the Gulf of Mexico, on the west by the Yucatn Channel, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast by the Gulf of Bataban, and on the east by La Habana province. Low mountain ranges, including the Sierra de los rganos and the Sierra del Rosario, form the backbone of the territory, which has an area of 4,218 square miles (10,925 square km). The sandy soils of the southern plain produce some of the world's best tobacco, in the Vuelta Abajo region, and the pine forests have been exploited heavily. Copper has been mined at Matahambre since 1913. The province also produces sugarcane, rice, pineapples, coffee, and livestock. Railroads and highways traverse the province, passing through the capital city, Pinar del Ro (q.v.). Pop. (1990 est.) 690,625.