Guacanayabo, Gulf Of

Gulf of Guacanayabo, Spanish Golfo De Guacanayabo, inlet of the Caribbean Sea, southeastern Cuba. The gulf stretches in a broad horseshoe shape from the southern coast of Camagüey province approximately 70 mi (110 km) to the southwestern shore of Granma province, north of Cabo (cape) Cruz. It is shallow and dotted with coral reefs, and the Gran Banco de Buena Esperanza surfaces in the central portion of the gulf, at the head of which, near the swampy mouth of the Río Cauto, is the port city of Manzanillo.