Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean Sea and contains Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba.
The island forms the central and largest part of the Cuban archipelago. Havana lies on Cuba’s northwestern coast along the Gulf of Mexico and is the country’s political, cultural, and economic centre.
Cuba has a long, narrow shape and includes mountain ranges such as the Sierra Maestra in the southeast. Pico Turquino, at 1,974 metres, is the island’s highest point.
Cuba is sometimes confused with Hispaniola, the Caribbean island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica and Puerto Rico are also important Caribbean islands, but both are considerably smaller than Cuba.