Country Profile: Cuba

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Cuba 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapGovernment of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Foreign and Commonwealth Office1:1,000,0001
Cuba 1:50,000 Scale Topographic Maps (E723)Instituto Cubano de Geodesia y Cartografia1:50,0001958 – 19684

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Cuba 1:250,000 Scale Geological MapsInstituto de Geologia y Paleontologia1:250,0001985 – 198523

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

YearQuestions / AnswersADM LevelPolygons at ADMData Points
200223 / 427216269,174
201250 / 464215875,168

Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)Varies1944 – 20033017
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:100,0001947 – 199924897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:200,0001949 – 200917799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:500,0001953 – 19983093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyVaries1943 – 20134517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:250,0001958 – 20074204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:1,000,0001948 – 19941089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | Geological/Scientific | Soil | Atlas | Tourist/Reference

Topographic

The Instituto Cubano de Geodesia y Cartografía (ICGC), Havana, was founded in 1967 to be responsible for all geodetic, cartographic, remote sensing and cadastral activities in Cuba. During the 1970s, first, second and third order triangulation networks were completed. Basic mapping programs were initiated at scales of 1:10,000 and 1:25,000, completed in 1980. Series at scales of 1:50,000; 1:100,000; 1:250,000 and 1:500,000 have also been completed. Topographic mapping is on a Lambert conformal conic projection, Clarke 1866 ellipsoid.

Recently, ICGC was merged with the Instituto Cubano de Hidrografía to form the Grupo Empresarial GEOCUBA (GEOCUBA). This organization has taken responsibility for the national cartographic system, including the 1:25,000 scale topographic map, the 1:10,000 scale rural cadastre, and some 136 nautical charts of home waters and 68 regional charts of other parts of the world.

In 1989 the Council of Ministers created a National Commission for Geographical Names, and a gazetteer was in preparation for publication in 1994, but no further information has been obtained about this.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Cuba is available at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (5 sheets, complete coverage, published in 1963); 1:500,000 (12 sheets, complete coverage, published 1983-1987); 1:200,000 (40 sheets, complete coverage, published in 1980-1983) and 1:100,000 (121 sheets, complete coverage, published 1976-1977). These products are available in print, digital raster and digtal vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

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Geological/Scientific

Earth science mapping is now the responsibility of the Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas (CIG), but most post-Revolution earth science mapping was undertaken by the Instituto de Geología y Paleontología (IGP) of the Cuban Academy of Sciences in collaboration with scientists from the former USSR and Eastern Europe. From 1972 to 1981, a 1:250,000 scale geological map was prepared, and this was published in 1989 in 40 sheets. A five-sheet geological map at 1:500,000 scale was published in 1985, maps of metalliferous and non-metalliferous mineral deposits in 1988 and a tectonic map in 1989.

A series of 1:250,000 scale karst maps (Mapa carsológico de Cuba) was begun in 1986 with cooperation from Czechoslovakia.

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Soil

Soil mapping was carried out by the Instituto de Suelos y Agroquímica of the Cuban Academy of Sciences in the period 1964-68. A set of 19 colored 1:250,000 scale sheets distinguishing 14 principal soil types was published in 1971. A separate explanation by A. Hernandez et al. was published to accompany the map, and a further report, Classificación genética de los suelos de Cuba, appeared in 1975.

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Atlas

The original Atlas national de Cuba, published in 1970 in both Spanish and Russian editions, was prepared by the Cuban Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1985, work began on a new national atlas, Nuevo atlas national de Cuba. Numerous Cuban organizations contributed to this sumptuous volume, and cartographic work was undertaken by the Department of Cartographic Modelling and GIS in the Instituto de Geografía Tropical (IGT). The new atlas was published in 1989 with the help of the Instituto de Geografía Nacional de España (IGNE), and supersedes the earlier volume. Data from this atlas are now incorporated in a Cuban GIS, and are being updated and used for other educational products. There is also a planned series of regional atlases, one for each Cuban state, but only that of Camaguey has so far been published, in 1991.

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Tourist/Reference

Many single-sheet tourist maps have been published in recent years by overseas publishers, reflecting the growing tourist industry. These include maps by International Travel Maps (ITM), Cartographia, Freytag Berndt (FB), Institut Géographique National (IGN) and Karto+Grafik (K+G).

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Content copyright © 2014 De Gruyter for e-version of World Mapping Today, 2nd Edition