With an area slightly smaller than Pennsylvania, Cuba claims the prize as the largest of the roughly 700 Caribbean islands and the eighth-largest island country in the world.

Most of the land consists of mostly flat or rolling low-lying plains, with rugged hills and mountainous terrain in the southeast. Despite the mountains, the mean elevation of the island only measures 108 km (354 ft.). About 60 percent of the land is considered agricultural, according to the CIA World Fact Book, with 33.8% arable land, 3.6% in permanent crops, and 22.9% permanent pasture. Major crops include cassava, grapefruit, sugar, and tobacco. Despite the patchwork of farmland and pastures, Cuba is known for having relatively large stretches of pristine mangrove forests and undisturbed coral reefs, beaches, and sea grass marshes.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a stunning true-color image of Cuba on December 28, 2019.

Image Facts

Satellite: Terra

Date Acquired: 12/28/2019

Resolutions: , ,

Bands Used:

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC