The Bay of Pigs (Spanish: Bahía de los Cochinos) is an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones, located on the southern coast of Cuba. By 1910 it was included in Santa Clara Province, and then to Las Villas Province by 1961, but in 1976, it was reassigned to Matanzas Province, when the original six provinces of Cuba were re-organized into 14 new Provinces of Cuba.

Bay of Pigs
Bahía de los Cochinos (Spanish)
Bay of Pigs from Cueva de los Peces
Bay of Pigs is located in Cuba
Bay of Pigs
Bay of Pigs
Location of Bay of Pigs in Cuba
Location of Bay of Pigs in Cuba
LocationMatanzas,
Cuba
Coordinates22°13′N 81°10′W / 22.217°N 81.167°W / 22.217; -81.167
TypeBay
EtymologyCochino meaning both "pig" and "triggerfish"
Part ofGulf of Cazones
Ocean/sea sourcesCaribbean Sea
Max. lengthmax. 27 km (17 mi)
Max. widthmax. 10 km (6.2 mi)
Surface area200 km2 (77 sq mi)
Shore length187 km (54 mi)
Max. temperature29 °C (84 °F)
Min. temperature22 °C (72 °F)
FrozenNever
IslandsCayo Piedra
SettlementsPlaya Girón, Playa Larga
References[1][2]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The bay is historically important for the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. The area is a site known for its diving, with an abundance of marine fauna, e.g. 30 species of sponges belonging to 19 families and 21 genera,[3] to be found in the bay.[4]

Etymology

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In Cuban Spanish, cochinos may also mean the queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula), which inhabit coral reefs in Bahía de Cochinos, in addition to the literal meaning, pigs (Sus scrofa).[5][6] [better source needed]

Geography

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Sunset in Playa Girón in October 2007

This bay is approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jagüey Grande, 70 kilometres (43 mi) west of the city of Cienfuegos, and 150 kilometres (93 mi) southeast from the capital city Havana. On the western side of the bay, coral reefs border the main Zapata Swamp, part of the Zapata Peninsula. On the eastern side, beaches border margins of firm ground with mangroves and extensive areas of swampland to the north and east. At the north end of the bay, the village of Buena Ventura is adjacent to Playa Larga (Long Beach). 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of that, Playa Girón (Giron Beach) at the village of Girón, named after the notorious French pirate Gilberto Giron (c. 1604).[7]

History

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Bay of Pigs in 1961

Playa Girón and Playa Larga were the landing sites for seaborne forces of armed Cuban exiles and the land strip for some American planes (but not many as America did not want Cuba to realize that it was American sponsored) in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, an American CIA-sponsored attempt to overthrow the new government of Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro in April 1961.

According to Fidel Castro's former bodyguard, the late Juan Reinaldo Sánchez, Castro lived in great luxury and had a private island called Cayo Piedra in the Bay of Pigs, replete with "mansions, guest houses, a heliport, dolphinarium, turtle lagoon, his luxury yacht Aquarama – a gift from Leonid Brezhnev – and deep-sea fishing speedboat".[8]

Diving

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Monument honoring five Cuban political prisoners held captive in the United States

The Bay of Pigs is a relatively quiet site for diving. Dive centers exist in Playa Larga, Playa Girón and Caleta Buena. Twelve dive sites in the bay display excellent visibility of 20 to 40 metres (66 to 131 ft), an average water temperature of 22 °C (72 °F) in December and 29 °C (84 °F) in July. Walls of coral, caverns, and a variety of fish (including the barracuda, lionfish, and groupers, among others), coral, and sponges can be found in the Bay of Pigs.[4]

The Caves of the Fishes (Spanish: Cueva de los Peces), with 72 metres (236 ft) depth the deepest cenote of Cuba, is located at 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of Playa Larga.[9]

Biodiversity

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Surrounding the Bay of Pigs, the endemic wormlizards Amphisbaena barbouri and A. cubana have been noted.[10] The following marine species have been registered along the eastern coast of the Bay of Pigs:

Group Common name Scientific name Image Notes
Fish blue chromis Chromis cyanea
 
blue tang Acanthurus coeruleus
 
bluehead wrasse Thalassoma bifasciatum
 
striped parrotfish Scarus iseri
 
beau gregory Stegastes leucostictus
bicolor damselfish Stegastes partitus
boga Inermia vittata
Colon goby Coryphopterus dicrus
creole wrasse Clepticus parrae
longfin damselfish Stegastes diencaeus
masked goby Coryphopterus personatus
threespot damselfish Stegastes planifrons
yellowhead wrasse Halichoeres garnoti
French grunt Haemulon flavolineatum
 
ocean surgeon Acanthurus bahianus
 
sergeant major Abudefduf saxatilis
 
slippery dick Halichoeres bivittatus
 
yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus
 
bar jack Caranx ruber
barred hamlet Hypoplectrus puella
brown chromis Chromis multilineata
foureye butterflyfish Chaetodon capistratus
graysby Epinephelus cruentatus
longjaw squirrelfish Holocentrus marianus
redband parrotfish Sparisoma aurofrenatum
royal gramma Gramma loreto
stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride
tomtate grunt Haemulon aurolineatum
white grunt Haemulon plumierii
porgies Calamus sp.
banded butterflyfish Chaetodon striatus
 
buffalo trunkfish Lactophrys trigonus
 
flat needlefish Ablennes hians
 
glasseye Heteropriacanthus cruentatus
 
longspine squirrelfish Holocentrus rufus
 
plate fish Bothus lunatus
 
red lionfish (invasive) Pterois volitans
 
spotfin butterflyfish Chaetodon ocellatus
 
trumpetfish Aulostomus maculatus
 
Sponges azure vase sponge Callyspongia plicifera
 
yellow tube sponge Aplysina fistularis
 
green finger sponge Iotrochota birotulata
orange icing sponge Mycale laevis
pink vase sponge Niphates digitalis
row pore rope sponge Aplysina cauliformis
touch-me-not sponge Neofibularia nolitangere
demosponges Cliona sp.
Cliona aprica
Cliona delitrix
Cliona varians
Aiolochroia crassa
Ectyoplasia ferox
Ircinia felix
Mycale laxissima
Plakortis angulospiculatus
Scopalina ruetzleri
Smenospongia aurea
Spirastrella coccinea
Corals boulder brain coral Colpophyllia natans
 
Caribbean sea whip Plexaura homomalla
 
elkhorn coral Acropora palmata
 
great star coral Montastraea cavernosa
 
maze coral Meandrina meandrites
 
purple sea fan Gorgonia ventalina
 
sea ginger Millepora alcicornis
 
Crustaceans Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus
 
Echinoderms donkey dung sea cucumber Holothuria mexicana
 
Mollusks queen conch Lobatus gigas
 

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "Area Calculator Using Maps". www.freemaptools.com.
  2. ^ "Measure Distance on a Map". www.freemaptools.com.
  3. ^ Caballero et al., 2009, p.95
  4. ^ a b "Diving in Playa Girón - Bahia de Cochinos". divescover.es. Archived from the original on 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  5. ^ Claro, Rodolfo; García-Arteaga, Juan P.; Gobert, Bertrand; Cantelar Ramos, Karel (13 May 2003). "Tabla 2. Pesos y tallas mínimos legales en Cuba y proporción de peces con tallas inferiores en las capturas con chinchorros y nasas de la empresa pesquera de Caibarién" (PDF). Situación actual de los recursos pesqueros del Archipiélago Sabana-Camagüey, Cuba. Invemar. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  6. ^ "Common Names List - Balistes vetula". Fishbase.org. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  7. ^ Rodríguez Cruz, 1999, p.115
  8. ^ "Cerca de 20 mansiones, tres yates y un helipuerto son algunas de las posesiones de Fidel Castro". La Información. June 16, 2014.
  9. ^ "La Cueva de los Peces, el cenote más profundo y bello de Cuba". CubaConecta. June 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Rodríguez Schettino et al., 2013, pp.9–10
  11. ^ Chevalier & Cárdenas, 2005, p.60
  12. ^ Chevalier & Cárdenas, 2005, p.61
  13. ^ "Banded Butterflyfish - Chaetodon striatus - Caribbean Fish Identification USVI". www.snorkelstj.com.
  14. ^ "Trunkfish (Buffalofish) - Lactophrys trigonus - Caribbean Fish Identification USVI". www.snorkelstj.com.
  15. ^ "Needlefish - Caribbean Fish Identification USVI". www.snorkelstj.com.
  16. ^ "Glasseye Snapper - Heteropriacanthus cruentatus - Bigeyes - - Tropical Reefs". reefguide.org.
  17. ^ "Longspine Squirrelfish - Holocentrus rufus - Squirrelfishes - - Tropical Reefs". reefguide.org.
  18. ^ "Peacock Flounder - Bothus lunatus - Caribbean Fish Identification USVI". www.snorkelstj.com.
  19. ^ "Indo-Pacific Lionfish - Pterois volitans - Caribbean Fish Identification USVI". www.snorkelstj.com.
  20. ^ "Spotfin Butterflyfish - Chaetodon ocellatus - Butterflyfishes - - Tropical Reefs". reefguide.org.
  21. ^ "Trumpetfish - Aulostomus maculatus - Bimini, Bahamas - Photo 3 - Tropical Reefs". reefguide.org.
  22. ^ "Callyspongia plicifera".
  23. ^ Caballero et al., 2009, p.101
  24. ^ "Boulder Brain Coral - Colpophyllia natans - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.
  25. ^ "Black Sea Rod - Plexaura homomalla - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.
  26. ^ "Elkhorn Coral - Acropora palmata - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.
  27. ^ "Great Star Coral - Montestrea cavernosa - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.
  28. ^ "Maze Coral - Meandrina meandrites - Stony Corals - - Tropical Reefs". reefguide.org.
  29. ^ "Common Sea Fan - Gorgonia ventalina - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.
  30. ^ "Branching Fire Corals - Millepora alcicornis - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.
  31. ^ "Caribbean Spiny Lobster - Panulirus argus - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.
  32. ^ "Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber - Holothuria mexicana - Sea Cucumbers - - Caribbean Reefs". reefguide.org.
  33. ^ "Conch - Strombus gigas - USVI Caribbean". www.snorkelstj.com.

Sources

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Further reading

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