Editing Geography of Cuba (section)

==Natural resources==
{{main|Economy of Cuba}}
{{see also|Agriculture of Cuba}}
[[File:Tobacco field cuba1.jpg|thumb|A [[tobacco]] field in [[Pinar del Río Province|Pinar del Río]]]]
[[Natural resource]]s include [[cobalt]], [[nickel]], [[iron ore]], [[copper]], [[salt]], [[timber]], [[silica]], [[oil]] and [[petroleum]]. At one time the whole island was covered with forests, and there are still many cedar (''[[Cedrela odorata]]''), chechem (''[[Metopium brownei]]'')<!-- Text originally stated "rosewood", but that term is ambiguous and usually refers to species of Dalbergia. While several Dalbergia species are native to Cuba, none are useful as timber. Unless useful Dalbergia species are commercially grown, my best guess is that "rosewood" refers to Metopium brownei.-->, mahogany (''[[Swietenia mahagoni]]''), and other valuable trees. Large areas were cleared to grow more [[sugarcane]], and so few trees remained that timber had to be imported.

The most important Cuban mineral economic resource is [[nickel]]. Cuba has the second-largest nickel reserves in the world after Russia.<ref name="usgs.gov-Cuba97">http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/1997/9509097.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012091655/https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/1997/9509097.pdf |date=2017-10-12 }} The Mineral Resources of Cuba 1997</ref> [[Sherritt International]], a Canadian energy company, operates a large nickel mining facility in [[Moa, Cuba]]. Another leading mineral resource is [[cobalt]], a byproduct of nickel mining operations. Cuba ranks as the fifth-largest producer of refined cobalt in the world.

Cuba has historically been dependent on oil imports.<ref name=NerurkarSullivan>Neelesh Nerurkar & Mark P. Sullivan, [https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41522.pdf Cuba's Offshore Oil Development: Background and U.S. Policy Considerations], [[Congressional Research Service]] (28 November 2011).</ref> As of 2011, Cuba had [[proven reserves]] of a mere {{convert|0.1|Goilbbl|m3}} of [[crude oil]] and 2.5 trillion cubic feet of [[natural gas]], and mostly used oil for [[power generation]].<ref name=NerurkarSullivan/> In 2010, Cuba produced 51,000 barrels of [[crude oil]] a day (Kb/d) in 2010 in onshore or shallow near-shore development, "mostly heavy, sour (sulfur-rich) crude that requires advanced refining capacity to process."<ref name=NerurkarSullivan/> Offshore exploration in the North Cuba Basin had revealed the possibility of an additional {{convert|4.6|Goilbbl|m3}} of technically recoverable crude oil, 0.9 billion barrels of [[natural gas liquids]], and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.<ref name=NerurkarSullivan/> As of 2011, Cuba had six offshore petroleum development projects with foreign oil companies [[Petrovietnam]] (Vietnam), [[Petronas]] (Malaysia), [[PDVSA]] (Venezuela), [[Sonangol]] (Angola), [[ONGC]] (India), [[Repsol]] (Spain), and [[Statoil]] (Norway).<ref name=NerurkarSullivan/>

Sugarcane was [[Cuban sugar economy|historically the most important part of the Cuban economy]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pollitt |first=Brian H. |title=The Rise and Fall of the Cuban Sugar Economy |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=319–348 |date=2004 |jstor=3875618 |doi=10.1017/S0022216X04007448}}</ref> and large areas are still dedicated to its cultivation; in 2018, Cuba produced an estimated 1.1–1.3 million tonnes of raw sugar.<ref name=Frank>Marc Frank, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-food-cuba-sugar/cuban-raw-sugar-production-headed-toward-30-percent-decline-idUSKBN1HN24L Cuban raw sugar production headed toward 30 percent decline], [[Reuters]] (April 16, 2018).</ref> The importance of the sugar harvest has declined, with tourism, tobacco, nickel, and pharmaceuticals surpassing sugar in economic importance.<ref name=Frank/>

Extensive [[irrigation]] systems are developed in the south of [[Sancti Spíritus Province]]. [[Tobacco]], used for some of the world's cigars, is grown especially in the [[Pinar del Río Province]].