A look at the coastal landscapes of Canasi.

Greetings friends and members of the community and especially nature lovers. Among the most impressive coastal landscapes of western Cuba are the landscapes of Canasi, along the northern coast of the province of Mayabeque in western Cuba. As part of the research and field work that I frequently carry out as a specialist in Environmental Engineering and Geology, I visited with some colleagues the coastal front of this sector to observe the nature and characteristics of its terrain and landscapes.

From the point of view of the terrestrial relief and the geological characteristics of the area in question, it is a sequence of ancient emerged relict marine terraces, whose reef limestone rocks were formed in very ancient times under a shallow sea that in the past covered the place where we are. Subsequently, in a succession of sea regressions and tectonic uplifts, the ancient platforms were carved as flat terraced surfaces raised by tectonic uplifts of the terrain, whose ascent formed impressive cliffs.

In the steep walls of these coastal cliffs, some gravitational phenomena have induced landslides and collapse of blocks from the rock walls, favored by a dense system of cracks in the rocks due to tectonic uplift forces. One of the utilities of the observations was precisely to identify these risk sectors in order to take natural protection measures for oil infrastructure works located near the base of the cliffs.

Another of the wonders of these landscapes in limestone rocks are the caves they contain, among which I visited the so-called "bat cave", whose name derives from the abundant fauna of bats that it has inside. This cave has a funnel-shaped section, and its formation is related to the corrosive action of groundwater that has dissolved the rock over thousands of years, creating the cavity and causing the formation of some stalactites and stalagmites. These natural cavities offer a lot of information from the hydrogeological point of view of the characteristics of the groundwater movement in these massifs with a view to future management for practical purposes of using its resources to supply different industrial infrastructures related to oil activity.

And of course, another of the natural attractions of this place is the rocky coast itself, from which you can glimpse and contemplate the wide sea that with its waves breaks and bathes the coastline, and invites relaxation and admiration of the beauty of nature.

All images are my own, captured with the camera of my Redmi Note 9 cell phone.

Translated at DeepL
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