The Caribbean

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Description

The Caribbean is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which are enclosed by the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and North America, east of Central America, and north of South America.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean islands are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which consists of the Greater Antilles on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (the Lucayan Archipelago, which does not border the Caribbean Sea)—and countries such as Belize in Central America and Guyana in South America, which are historically and culturally part of the British West Indies.

Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then UK dependencies. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations.

Climate and Geography

The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies. Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. These islands include Aruba (possessing only minor volcanic features), Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, The Bahamas and Antigua. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominica, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Tortola, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Trinidad & Tobago.

Definitions of the terms Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles often vary. The Virgin Islands as part of the Puerto Rican bank are sometimes included with the Greater Antilles. The term Lesser Antilles is often used to define an island arc that includes Grenada but excludes Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Antilles.

The climate of the area is tropical but rainfall varies with elevation, size and water currents (cool upwellings keep the ABC islands arid). Warm, moist tradewinds blow consistently from the east creating rainforest/semidesert divisions on mountainous islands. Occasional northwesterlies affect the northern islands in the winter. The region enjoys year-round sunshine, divided into 'dry' and 'wet' seasons, with the last six months of the year being wetter than the first half.

The waters of the Caribbean Sea host large, migratory schools of fish, turtles, and coral reef formations. The Puerto Rico trench, located on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea just to the north of the island of Puerto Rico, is the deepest point in all of the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricanes that sometimes batter the region usually strike northwards of Grenada and to the west of Barbados. The principal hurricane belt arcs to northwest of the island of Barbados in the Eastern Caribbean.

The region sits in the line of several major shipping routes with the Panama Canal connecting the western Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.

Island Groups

Lucayan Archipelago

Bahamas

Turks and Caicos Islands (former dependencies of the United Kingdom)

Greater Antilles

Cuba

Hispaniola

Haiti ***

Dominican Republic

Jamaica

Cayman Islands (former dependency of the United Kingdom)

Puerto Rico (off-shore dependency of the United State of America)

Lesser Antilles

Leeward Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands (off-shore dependency of the United State of America)

Saint Croix

Saint Thomas

Saint John

Water Island

British Virgin Islands (former dependency of the United Kingdom)

Tortola

Virgin Gorda

Anegada

Jost Van Dyke

Anguilla (former dependency of the United Kingdom)

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua

Barbuda

Redonda

Saint Martin (politically divided between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Saint Martin (off-shore dependency of France)

Sint Maarten (off-shore dependency of Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Saba (BES islands, off-shore dependency of Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Sint Eustatius (BES islands, off-shore dependency of Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Saint Barthélemy (French Antilles, off-shore dependency of France)

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts

Nevis

Montserrat (former dependency of the United Kingdom)

Guadeloupe (French Antilles, off-shore dependency of France)

Les Saintes

Marie-Galante

La Désirade

Windward Islands

Dominica

Martinique (French Antilles, off-shore dependency of France)

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent

The Grenadines

Grenada

Grenada

Carriacou

Petite Martinique

Barbados

Trinidad and Tobago

Tobago

Trinidad

Leeward Antilles

Aruba (off-shore dependency of Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Curaçao (off-shore dependency of Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Bonaire (BES islands, off-shore dependency of Kingdom of the Netherlands)