Toa River, the mightiest river in Cuba

The Toa River is the mightiest and biggest river in the Island of Cuba with 72 tributaries and although is not born in Baracoa, its more marked traverse section crosses for this area, and its longitude is of 131 kilometers. It is located in the county of Guantánamo in the oriental end of the island. This area has one of the few places of forests with rain presence in the north hemisphere.

The watershed of the Toa River occupies around 70% of the Reservation of the Biosphere that takes the name of Knives of the Toa "Cuchilla del Toa", this constitutes one of the more important regions in Cuba and the Caribbean, that comes given by the values of its biological diversity, the variety of its landscapes, the peculiarity of its ecosystems and the high presence of endemic species in flora and fauna, constituting the refuge and species center oldest of Cuba.

This watershed is one of the most remarkable accidents in the Orthographic Group of Sagua-Baracoa, considered from last century as "incognito earth". Visitors of all the corners of the world are admitted fascinated by the natural beauties that it stores and the state of conservation of that jewel of the world geography.

The watershed of the Toa River has an extension of 1 061 Km2, a half height of 488 msnm, half slope 260 meters and a high density of the superficial drainage (0.85 Km/Km2). It presents a half precipitation of 2 630 mm/year, the highest for a region in Cuba. Their main superficial current is the River Toa, which possesses a longitude of 131 Km and it presents a high near annual glide to the 57 m3/seg. It is approximately the less inhabited region of Cuba, almost deserted, with an inhabitant for square kilometer.

Their great flora reservation and endemic fauna is the most voluminous in the country that is conjugated with the existence of a rich autochthonous culture. A thousand species of flowers and 145 types of ferns exist. This fauna has birds in extinction danger like it is the case of the Real Carpenter “Carpintero Real” and the Sparrow Hawk “Gavilán Caguarero”, the Tocororo, national bird of Cuba, it can also be for these places. The well-known “Almiquí” scientifically recognized as the “Solenodon Cubanus”.

In coordination with the UNESCO: the Revolutionary Government from Cuba has declared the following areas of the watershed of the Toa and its closes areas: Cupeyal North Reserve, The Melva Reserve, and the Reserve of the Biosphere of the Knives of the Toa “Cuchillas del Toa” as World Biosphere Reserve.

Are proposed by the part of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA in Spanish) like natural reservations: Pico El Toldo, Pico Galano, Quibiján, Puriales de Cajuerí, Duaba and Yunque of Baracoa that it is already National Monument, all in the Group of Sagua-Baracoa.