Sabana-Camagüey is an archipelago

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...

 that lines 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...

's north-central 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...

 coast. It is located off the northern coast of the provinces

Provinces of Cuba

Administratively, Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and one special municipality not included in any province. The last modification was approved in August 2010 , splitting Havana province into two new provinces: Artemisa and Mayabeque...

 of Matanzas

Matanzas Province

Matanzas is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas...

, Villa Clara

Villa Clara Province

Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering with the Atlantic at north, Matanzas Province by west, Sancti Spiritus by east, and Cienfuegos on the South. Villa Clara shares with Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus on the south the Escambray...

, Sancti Spíritus

Sancti Spíritus Province

Sancti Spíritus is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is the identically named Sancti Spíritus. Another major city is Trinidad.The southern coast of the province is flat, but the western portion of Sancti Spíritus province is mountainous. The southeast has numerous mangroves and swamps...

, 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...

, and is bounded to the north by the Atlantic Ocean

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...

, specifically by the Nicholas Channel

Nicholas Channel

Nicholas Channel is a strait off the northwestern coast of Cuba. It lies east of Havana. It separates Cuba from the most southwestern of the islands of the Bahamas....

 (Sabana segment) and Old Bahama Channel

Old Bahama Channel

The Old Bahama Channel is a strait off the northern coast of Cuba and the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago and south of the Great Bahama Bank. It is approximately long and wide....

 (Camagüey segment).

The archipelago is developed on a general north-east to south-west direction, and stretches for 475 km (295.2 mi) from the Hicacos Peninsula

Hicacos Peninsula

Hicacos is a peninsula on Cuba's northern shore, in the province of Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is located on the peninsula. The name comes from a species of cactus.-Geography:...

 and Varadero to the Bay of Nuevitas. The entire system covers more than 75000 km² (28,957.7 sq mi) and is composed of approximately 2,517 cay

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 isles. The western islands are grouped in the Jardines del Rey

Jardines del Rey

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...

 archipelago, and contains Cayo Coco

Cayo Coco

Cayo 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 Guillermo

Cayo Guillermo

Cayo 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...

 and Cayo Romano

Cayo Romano

Cayo 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....

 among others.

Conservation

The coastal and marine ecosystem

Marine ecosystem

Marine ecosystems are among the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems. They include oceans, salt marsh and intertidal ecology, estuaries and lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs, the deep sea and the sea floor. They can be contrasted with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine...

 represented by the archipelago is undergoing conservation projects supported by the Global Environment Facility

Global Environment Facility

The Global Environment Facility unites 182 member governments — in partnership with international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector — to address global environmental issues....

 and Environment Canada

Environment Canada

Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...

. Mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

s and coastal forests effectively create a buffer zone between the agricultural coast and the sensitive marine environment. The Sabana-Camagüey ecosystem encompasses 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....

 Biosphere Reserve

Biosphere reserve

The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...

, the Caguanes National Park

Caguanes National Park

Caguanes National Park is a national park in Cuba. It is located in the Yaguajay municipality in the northern part of Sancti Spíritus Province, on the northern coast of Cuba....

, as well as wetlands of northern Ciego de Ávila Province

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....

. A total of 35 protected sites are located here.

Sabana section

• Cayo Piedras
• Cayo Cruz del Padre
• Cayo Blanco
• Cayo Cinco Leguas
• Cayo Ingles
• Cayo Falcones
• Cayo Megano
• Cayo Blanquizal
• Cayo Sotaviento
• Cayo Verde
• Cayo Hicacal
• Cayo La Vela
• Cayos de Pajonal
• Cayo Fragoso

Camagüey section

• Cayo Frances
• 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 Caiman Grande
• Jardines del Rey
  Jardines del Rey
  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...
  
  
  • Cayo Guillermo
    Cayo Guillermo
    Cayo 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 Coco
    Cayo Coco
    Cayo 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 Judas
  • Cayo Romano
    Cayo Romano
    Cayo 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 Paredon Grande
  • Cayo Megano Grande
  • Cayo Eusebio
  • Cayo Cruz
  • Cayo Guajaba
    Cayo Guajaba
    Cayo 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 Sabinal
    Cayo Sabinal
    Cayo 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...