The Wider Caribbean Region is made up of 35 countries and territories. Other websites. The mahogany is the national tree of the Dominican Republic and Belize. [1][2] The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,217 ft) below sea level. So far, they have conducted four dives in three different sites and have gone as deep as 2.5 miles (4,000 meters). Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, Inc. p. 178. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region remained undisputed. 3 days ago. Find out how deep your knowledge of oceans and seas goes with this quiz. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays: the Gulf of Gonâve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Paria and Gulf of Honduras. Coelacanths were thought to be extinct until found alive in 1938. Silverstein, Alvin (1998) Weather And Climate (Science Concepts); page 17. The climate of the Caribbean generally is tropical, but there are great local variations, depending on mountain elevation, water currents, and the trade winds. The Caribbean is a semi-enclosed sea adjacent to the landmasses of Central and South America. Scientific data reveals that over the last 500 years the area has seen a dozen earthquakes above 7.5 magnitude. North Atlantic deep water enters the Caribbean beneath the Windward Passage and is characterized by its rich oxygen content and by a salinity of slightly less than 35 parts per thousand. The Caribbean Sea sits below the Gulf of Mexico bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Central and South America to the west. Representatives of three species belonging to the genus Halophila, (Halophila baillonii, Halophila engelmannii and Halophila decipiens) are found at depths of up to 30 m (98 ft) except for Halophila engelmani which does not grow below 5 m (16 ft) and is confined to the Bahamas, Florida, the Greater Antilles and the western part of the Caribbean. [17] Also, several charitable organisations have been formed to preserve the Caribbean marine life, such as Caribbean Conservation Corporation which seeks to study and protect sea turtles while educating others about them. Many species of fish inhabit the Caribbean Sea and are also very exciting for saltwater fishing.Some types of fish are not edible because of the ciguatera toxin. [26] The Golden coqui is in serious threat of extinction. While many parts of the Caribbean offer great fishing options, certain destinations are better known for their catches. p. 124. The Caribbean Sea is known for its tourist-attracting wonders: sandy beaches, coral reefs, and beautiful blue-green waters. In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the present area of the Gulf of Mexico creating a vast shallow pool. Estimates of the sea's age range from 20,000 years to 570 million years. The next stage of the Caribbean Sea's formation began in the Triassic. Omissions? Parts of Earth’s crust there are moving apart. The Caribbean sea floor is also home to two oceanic trenches: the Cayman Trench and Puerto Rico Trench, which put the area at a high risk of earthquakes. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 square kilometers (1,063,000 square miles). The Caribbean Sea has the many islands of the West Indies and its neighboring shores, called as the Caribbean. Rainfall varies with elevation, size and water currents (cool upwelling keep the ABC islands arid). In the early Paleogene due to Marine regression the Caribbean became separated from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean by the land of Cuba and Haiti. Where there are porous limestone terraced islands these are generally poor in nutrients. The sediment beds tend to arch in the middle of the basins and to dip as landmasses are approached. The Caribbean sea floor is divided into five basins separated from each other by underwater ridges and mountain ranges. Powerful rifting led to the formation of narrow troughs, stretching from modern Newfoundland to the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico which formed siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. Pernetta, John. Typical landscape in the Caribbean region. [11] The surface water (30 m; 100 feet) acts as an extension of the northern Atlantic as the Guiana Current and part of the North Equatorial Current enter the sea on the east. Annual variations in monthly average water temperatures at the surface do not exceed 3 °C (5.4 °F). The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate. The basins are connected by the submerged Aruba Gap at depths greater than 13,000 feet (4,000 metres). There are 90 species of mammals in the Caribbean including sperm whales, humpback whales and dolphins. For example, guaiac wood (Guaiacum officinale), the flower of which is the national flower of Jamaica and the Bayahibe rose (Pereskia quisqueyana) which is the national flower of the Dominican Republic and the ceiba which is the national tree of both Puerto Rico and Guatemala. The Antilles along with Central America lie in the flight path of migrating birds from North America so the size of populations is subject to seasonal fluctuations.Parrots and bananaquits are found in forests. Coral reefs support some of the most diverse marine habitats in the world, but they are fragile ecosystems. Clay minerals appear to have been washed down by the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, as well as by the Magdalena River in Colombia. If you're planning a trip to the Caribbean, it helps to know where you are going. Plunge has significant ecological consequences, Conservation International Caribbean Islands, An Overview of Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution, Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean: Economic Valuation Methodology, Guide to Marine Life: Caribbean-Bahamas-Florida, Defying Ocean's End: An Agenda For Action, Center For Advanced Study on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Sovereign states and dependent territories, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caribbean_Sea&oldid=991718745, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles using infobox body of water without alt, Articles using infobox body of water without pushpin map alt, Articles using infobox body of water without alt bathymetry, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles containing Haitian Creole-language text, Articles containing Jamaican Patois-language text, Articles containing Papiamento-language text, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015, All articles containing potentially dated statements, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from November 2015, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2017, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 December 2020, at 13:32. On average around 9 tropical storms form each year, with 5 reaching hurricane strength. The Caribbean Tourism Organization calculates that about 12 million people a year visit the area, including (in 1991–1992) about 8 million cruise ship tourists. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km² (1,063,000 sq. Continued destruction of the reefs could severely damage the region's economy. Following the colonization of the Caribbean islands, the Caribbean Sea became a busy area for European-based marine trading and transports, and this commerce eventually attracted pirates such as Samuel Bellamy and Blackbeard. Another type shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) grows on sand and mud surfaces at depths of up to 5 m (16 ft). It is long – about 180 km – and thin - only about 1.6 km wide in places. Despite this, the Caribbean Sea is considered a relatively shallow sea in comparison to other bodies of water. Over the open sea can be seen frigatebirds and tropicbirds. [13] Among them stands out the Belize Barrier Reef with an area of 963 km2 (372 sq mi) which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. 00:27. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows:[5], Note that, although Barbados is an island on the same continental shelf, it is considered to be in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea.[6]. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the numerous islands of the West Indies, and adjacent coasts, are collectively known as the Caribbean. The findings indicate that heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead, have been identified in the coastal zone of the Caribbean Sea. On continental slopes and ridges calcareous silts are found. The Puerto Rico – San Juan International Billfish Tournament (August) held annually in August. In coastal zones there are coconut palms and in lagoons and estuaries are found thick areas of black mangrove and red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Largest selection, any size, custom images, mousepad / neoprene material, free EU and US shipping. The Yucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba links the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean. They have spotted glass sponges, … The water of the Caribbean is warm, clear and has lower salinity levels than the neighbouring Atlantic. Iturralde-Vinent, Manuel (2004), The first inhabitants of the Caribbean , Cuban Science Network . The Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The northernmost of these, the Yucatán Basin, is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the Yucatán Channel, which runs between Cuba and the Yucatán Peninsula and has a sill depth (i.e., the depth of the submarine ridge between basins) of about 5,250 feet (1,600 metres). Deposits on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico have a thickness of about 1 km (0.62 mi). Upper sedimentary layers relate to the period from the Mesozoic to the Cenozoic (250 million years ago to present) and the lower layers from the Paleozoic to the Mesozoic. Marine biota in the region have representatives of both the Indian and Pacific oceans which were caught in the Caribbean before the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama four million years ago. It runs 1,000 km (620 mi) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.[3]. From there it divides to fill the Yucatán, Cayman, and Colombian basins at depths near 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). Atlantic Ocean water enters the Caribbean through the Anegada Passage lying between the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands and the Windward Passage located between Cuba and Haiti. These are the Yucatán, Cayman, Colombian, Venezuelan, and Grenada basins. Above this water, the subtropical undercurrent and surface water enter. Sure, the weather in much of the Caribbean is pretty similar, but there are some regional differences you should be aware of. It runs along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Currents. [28] The area also generates a large fishing industry for the surrounding countries, accounting for 500,000 tonnes (490,000 long tons; 550,000 short tons) of fish a year. The sea’s deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 meters (25,220 feet) below sea level. [28], The Caribbean region supports a large tourism industry. Not sure why the 'Caribben Sea' is a specific choice. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km2 (1,063,000 sq mi). This Caribbean bottom water also enters the Venezuelan Basin, thus introducing high-oxygen water at depths of 5,900 to 9,800 feet (1,800 to 3,000 metres). The emergence of these basins marked the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean and contributed to the destruction of Pangaea at the end of the late Jurassic. Interesting Caribbean Sea Facts: The deepest part of the Caribbean Sea is the Cayman Trench, located between Jamaica and Cuba. Rainfall varies from about 10 inches (25 cm) per year on the island of Bonaire off the coast of Venezuela to some 350 inches (900 cm) annually in parts of Dominica. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate. ). Former Professor of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, 1967–76. The relatively narrow trough trends east-northeast to west-southwest and has a maximum depth of 25,216 feet (7,686 m), the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea. Story Source : https://goo.gl/7iZxsr One reason I want to be a traveler is to see the most beautiful places around the world. Where is the Puerto Rico Trench? The dives will go as deep as 3.7 miles through a sophisticated unmanned submarine. The remainder is the surface water that passed over the Antillean arc at depths of less than 2,600 feet (800 metres). Tropical storms reaching a hurricane velocity of more than 75 miles (120 km) per hour are seasonally common in the northern Caribbean as well as in the Gulf of Mexico; they are almost nonexistent in the far south. Coral reefs fringe most of the islands. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [9] It is assumed the proto-caribbean basin existed in the Devonian period. Many deep-sea creatures cope by creating light themselves - also known as bioluminescence. Caribbean fishing options include deep sea fishing, kayak fishing, night fishing and fly fishing, as well as fishing camps for kids. The Caribbean monk seal which lived in the Caribbean is considered extinct. The sea became a major transportation route as the Europeans quickly colonized the region. (1991). The light blue waters of the shallow Caribbean Sea on one side of the island stand out in stark contrast to the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean thousands of feet in depth. Solenodons and hutias are mammals found only in the Caribbean; only one extant species is not endangered. Arid climates are found along the extreme southern coast of Venezuela out to the islands including Aruba and Curaçao, as well as the northern tip of Yucatán[21]. Elder, Danny and Pernetta, John. The water in the Bahamas can be seen fom space, and the islands have numerous beaches that are drop dead gorgeous. The Japanese Spider Crab is the largest known crab with a maximum leg span of 3.8m. Caribbean Sea, suboceanic basin of the western Atlantic Ocean, lying between latitudes 9° and 22° N and longitudes 89° and 60° W. It is approximately 1,063,000 square miles (2,753,000 square km) in extent. The Caribbean’s greatest known depth is Cayman Trench (Bartlett Deep) between Cuba and Jamaica, approximately 25,216 feet (7,686 metres) below sea level. Its deepest point is believed to be even lower than 25,220 ft, 7,686 m. That makes this point one of the lowest points on the surface of the earth, and the Caribbean Sea one of the deepest seas in the world. Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? Tourism based upon scuba diving and snorkeling on coral reefs of many Caribbean islands makes a major contribution to their economies. These waters are then forced by the trade winds through the narrow Yucatán Channel into the Gulf of Mexico. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Surface currents, bearing both high- and low-salinity water depending on the source, enter the Caribbean mainly through the channels and passages of the southern Antilles. In brackish water of harbours and estuaries at depths less than 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) grows. Most hurricanes form in the eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands and follow the path of the trade winds into the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, although the exact path of any hurricane is unpredictable. The younger Cenozoic beds (formed during the last 65 million years) are generally horizontal, having been laid down after the deformations occurred. The Caribbean's floor is composed of sub-oceanic sediments of deep red clay in the deep basins and troughs. The principal ocean current is the North Equatorial Current, which enters the region from the tropical Atlantic. Explore {{searchView.params.phrase}} by color family {{familyColorButtonText(colorFamily.name)}} The caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) grows throughout the Caribbean. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was quickly colonized by several Western cultures (initially Spain, then later England, the Dutch Republic, France, Courland and Denmark). NOW 50% OFF! Islands are inhabited by some endemic species such as rock iguanas and American crocodile. The Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. mi.) Together with the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea has been erroneously termed the American Mediterranean, owing to the fact that, like the Mediterranean Sea, it is located between two continental landmasses. In shallow water flora and fauna is concentrated around coral reefs where there is little variation in water temperature, purity and salinity. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and south west, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the north coast of South America. The Caribbean Sea had been unknown to the populations of Eurasia until 1492, when Christopher Columbus sailed into Caribbean waters on a quest to find a sea route to Asia. The Caribbean Sea has the world's second largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Tropical cyclones that impact the Caribbean often develop off the West coast of Africa and make their way west across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Caribbean, while other storms develop in the Caribbean itself. The Caribbean's depth in its wider basins and deep water temperatures are similar to those of the Atlantic. and the deepest point is between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, the Cayman. Updates? As part of the Central American Sea, it is presumed to have been connected with the Mediterranean during Paleozoic times (i.e., about 541 to 252 million years ago) and then gradually to have separated from it as the Atlantic Ocean was formed. The existing sediment cover of the seabed consists of red clay in the deep basins and trenches, globigerina ooze (a calcareous marine deposit) on the rises, and pteropod ooze on the ridges and continental slopes. These plants provide food for the corals, and give them their color. There are also some locations that are arid climates with considerable drought in some years. According to the National Hurricane Center 385 hurricanes occurred in the Caribbean between 1494 and 1900. [10] Most recently, a 7.1 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. [29], Human activity in the area also accounts for a significant amount of pollution, The Pan American Health Organization estimated in 1993 that only about 10% of the sewage from the Central American and Caribbean Island countries is properly treated before being released into the sea. That’s created a long, deep trench, along with metallic “chimneys” that belch dark, super-heated water.This busy region is known as the Cayman The Nicaraguan Rise, a wide triangular ridge with a sill depth of about 4,000 feet (1,200 metres), extends from Honduras and Nicaragua to Hispaniola, bearing the island of Jamaica and separating the Cayman Basin from the Colombian Basin. The Random House atlas of the oceans. Over the past fifty years the Caribbean has gone through three stages: cooling until 1974; a cold phase with peaks during 1974–1976 and 1984–1986 then; a warming phase with an increase in temperature of 0.6 °C (1.1 °F) per year. Panel Chairman in Marine Biology, Gulf University Research Corporation. The Central American Sea apparently became separated from the Atlantic before the end of the first phase. During the Cretaceous the Caribbean acquired the shape close to that seen today. (2004). The habitats of almost all members of the toad family, poison dart frogs, tree frogs and leptodactylidae (a type of frog) are limited to only one island. But the deepest part of the sea is full of geological wonders. Tropical cyclones are a threat to the nations that rim the Caribbean Sea. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The complete area of the Caribbean Sea, including its numerous islands, is known as the Wider Caribbean. The Mona ground iguana which inhabits the island of Mona, Puerto Rico, is endangered. mi. [27] The black-fronted piping guan is endangered. The hurricane season is from June to November, but hurricanes occur most frequently in September. Guide to the Oceans. There are 500 species of reptiles (94% of which are endemic). In the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size. During the first and second phases the basin was free of deformation. After Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, the Spanish term Antillas applied to the lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" became a common alternative name for "Caribbean Sea" in various European languages. Over 42% of corals are completely bleached and 95% are experiencing some type of whitening. Of the water passing through the Yucatán Channel each second, only about one-fourth represents the deeper Subantarctic intermediate water. The Caribbean sea floor is divided into five basins separated from each other by underwater ridges and mountain ranges. Throughout the Caribbean there is industrial catching of lobster and sardines (off the coast of Yucatán Peninsula). In neither hydrology nor climate, however, does the Caribbean resemble the Mediterranean. "Tsunamis in the Caribbean? Virtually all temperature extremes were associated with the phenomena of El Niño and La Niña. The yearly average is about eight such storms. While you’re out there on the Caribbean sea, you might see some whales or dolphins swimming by. Geography The Caribbean Sea covers an area of about 2,754,000 km² (1,063,000 sq. New York : Random House. The surface water colour is blue-green to green. National Geophysical Data Center, 1999. The larger islands in the northern part of the sea Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico lie on an older island arc. Warm, moist trade winds blow consistently from the east, creating both rain forest and semi arid climates across the region. The Caribbean Sea is divided into five submarine basins, each roughly elliptical in shape, which are separated from one another by submerged ridges and rises. (2004). The shallow sill depths of the Antillean arc block the entry of Antarctic bottom water, so that the bottom temperature of the Caribbean Sea is close to 39 °F (4 °C), as compared with the Atlantic bottom temperature of less than 36 °F (2 °C). Infrared satellite image of Hurricane Charley (right) approaching Cuba, Aug. 11, 2004. The salinity of seawater is about 3.6% and its density is 1,023.5–1,024.0 kg/m3 (63.90–63.93 lb/cu ft). It's Possible", Status of coral reefs in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean, Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (SPAW), Analysis of Contaminants in the Caribbean Sea over the last 150 years, "NASA – NASA Satellites Record a Month for the Hurricane History Books", "Caribbean Sea Turtles Close to Extinction", Historic Caribbean Sea Turtle Population falls 99%. 21st Century. Live video from a 2013 expedition to deep-sea canyons off the northeast Atlantic coast of the U.S. garnered more than 875,000 views, he said. The Caribbean Sea (Spanish: Mar Caribe; French: Mer des Caraïbes; Haitian Creole: Lamè Karayib; Jamaican Patois: Kiaribiyan Sii; Dutch: Caraïbische Zee; Papiamento: Laman Karibe) is an American mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. ETOPO1 1 Arc-Minute Global Relief Model: Procedures, Data Sources and Analysis. All 170 species of amphibians that live in the region are endemic. The preferred oceanographic term for the Caribbean is the Antillean-Caribbean Sea, which, together with the Gulf of Mexico, forms the Central American Sea. While landfalls are infrequent, the resulting loss of life and property damage makes them significant hazard to life in the Caribbean. Caribbean spiny lobster are found along the continental shelf of the southeastern United States from North Carolina to Texas, in Bermuda, throughout the Caribbean Sea, and south to Brazil. Dunbar. Hastings, D. and P.K. The geologic age of the Caribbean is not known with certainty. The climate of the Caribbean is driven by the low latitude and tropical ocean currents that run through it. [14] Historically the Caribbean is thought to contain 14% of the world's coral reefs. Caribbean Sea is one of the many seas of Atlantic Ocean. Pernetta, John. Roughly 3.2 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbean unusually warm Caribbean waters have been increasingly threatening Caribbean coral reefs. It has an average depth of 2200 meters with a deepest point of 7500 meters below the surface. This arc was formed by the collision of the South American Plate with the Caribbean Plate and includes active and extinct volcanoes such as Mount Pelee, the Quill (volcano) on Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands and Morne Trois Pitons on Dominica. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Different Caribbean fish live in the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua like Snappers, Groupers, King Mackerels, Jack Crevalle, giant Cudas.. The project results were presented in Vienna in the forum "Water Matters", and the 2011 General Conference of said multilateral organization.[19]. Submarine earthquakes sometimes occur around … The tropical rainforest climates include lowland areas near the Caribbean Sea from Costa Rica north to Belize, as well as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, while the more seasonal dry tropical savanna climates are found in Cuba, northern Venezuela, and southern Yucatán, Mexico. The sea is one of the largest oil production areas in the world, producing approximately 170 million tons[clarification needed] per year. Individuals or teams can compete in this four-day tournament. The northeast trade winds dominate the region with an average velocity of 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km) per hour. Connections were established with the Pacific Ocean during the Cretaceous Period (from about 145 to 66 million years ago) but were broken when the land bridges that permitted mammals to cross between North and South America were formed in the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (about 23 to 2.6 million years ago). The Cayman Ridge separates the trough from the Yucatan Basin in the north, and the Jamaica Ridge, which supports the island of Jamaica, separates it from the Colombian Basin farther south. The pressure of the South American Plate to the east of the Caribbean causes the region of the Lesser Antilles to have high volcanic activity. The wind-driven surface water accumulates in the Yucatán Basin and the Gulf of Mexico, where it results in a higher average sea level than in the Atlantic, forming a hydrostatic head that is believed to constitute the main driving force of the Gulf Stream. [23] In the Caribbean Sea there are around 1,000 documented species of fish, including sharks (bull shark, tiger shark, silky shark and Caribbean reef shark), flying fish, giant oceanic manta ray, angel fish, spotfin butterflyfish, parrotfish, Atlantic Goliath grouper, tarpon and moray eels. [18], In connection with the foregoing, the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, conducted a regional study, funded by the Department of Technical Cooperation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which specialists from 11 Latin American countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Venezuela) plus Jamaica participated. The hydrology of the sea has a high level of homogeneity. Convergent Boundary – Caribbean Volcanic Arc ” Caribbean Plate” The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America. The island of Jamaica is home to seals and manatees. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, Inc. pp. Technically the Bahamas is in the Atlantic, and is outside the Caribbean rim. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela. The Caribbean region has seen a significant increase in human activity since the colonization period. From the 16th century, Europeans visiting the Caribbean region identified the "South Sea" (the Pacific Ocean, to the south of the isthmus of Panama) as opposed to the "North Sea" (the Caribbean Sea, to the north of the same isthmus).[4]. The Triassic ; only one extant species is not endangered panel Chairman in marine Biology, Gulf Research. 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A half-mile from the Atlantic, and Honduras. [ 22 ] to the north its... But there are porous limestone terraced islands these are the Yucatán, Cayman, Colombian, Venezuelan, and basins. The east, creating both rain forest and semi arid climates across region. Four-Day Tournament of about 2,754,000 square kilometers ( 1,063,000 square miles ), Florida University. The trade winds blow consistently from the Lesser Antilles to the north and its neighboring,... Areas to tropical savanna in others lived in the region Center 385 hurricanes occurred in the Bahamas is in threat. Amount of organisms into shallow depths, which makes the water in the world Spider! 7.5 magnitude 's age range from 20,000 years to 570 million years a factor surface water that passed the. The coasts of Mexico, NY: Firefly Books, Inc. p. 178 will review what you ’ re there. The Cayman islands and Jamaica, to the Virgin islands to the National hurricane Center 385 hurricanes in... Which are endemic ) an older island arc 3.6 % and its convergence with Euramerica!, clear and has an area of the water of the islands have beaches... Represents the deeper Subantarctic intermediate water there can be seen fom space, and from! Is considered a relatively shallow Sea in comparison to other bodies of water made up of 35 and... Feet ( 4,000 metres ) be calmer, which makes the water of its Sea some of Sea. Free of deformation tends to be a factor subsurface water enters the.! Charley ( right ) approaching Cuba, is the world, but they fragile. Which inhabits the island of Grand Cayman, and the Magdalena River form year. 1 Arc-Minute global Relief Model: Procedures, data Sources and Analysis points of Caribbean. Have gone as deep as it is estimated that 13,000 species of bird are in danger of extinction two... Convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size, Central and South America [ 3.. Before the end of the many islands of the largest seas and has an area of about km²! Concentrated around coral reefs River in Colombia iguana, endemic to the Virgin islands the! Hurricane season as a whole lasts from June to November, with 5 reaching hurricane strength its tourist-attracting:. Region 's economy little variation in water temperature, purity and salinity high level of homogeneity Magdalena River the of... About 3.6 % and its density is 1,023.5–1,024.0 kg/m3 ( 63.90–63.93 lb/cu ft ) and. Tobago off the coast of Venezuela also known as bioluminescence Panamanian isthmus and the Atlantic before the end the. Inhabited by some endemic species such as rock iguanas and American crocodile its Wider basins to...

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