Pinar del Río

Town and capital of Pinar del Río province in western Cuba, 153 km/95 mi southwest of Havana; population (1997) 136,000. Tobacco is grown in the region and cigars are produced. Other industries include furniture manufacturing, and there is a thermal power plant.

The town was founded in 1775. In 1800 it was officially named Nueva Filipina.

Pinar del Río

Province in western Cuba, bounded by La Habana province to the east, the Yucatán Peninsula to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the south, and the Gulf of Mexico to the north; area 10,925 sq km/4,218 sq mi; population (1990) 690,625. The land is hilly and largely agricultural. Sugar, coffee, and rice are grown, and copper has been mined at Matahambre since 1913. South of the province's capital city, also called Pinar del Río, is the Vuelta Abajo region where high quality tobacco is cultivated.

Low mountain ranges, including the Sierra de los Organos and the Sierra del Rosario, form the backbone of the territory.