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Information about Caribbean

"West Indies" redirects here. For the cricket team, see West Indies cricket team. For other uses, see West Indies (disambiguation).
“West Indian” redirects here. For the western part of India, see West India.
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Detail of tectonic plates from: Tectonic plates of the world
The Caribbean (Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Spanish: Caribe) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of North America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the area comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. The West Indies consist of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas. Geopolitically, the West Indies are usually reckoned as a subregion of North America and are organised into 28 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. At one time, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories.

The Caribbean islands are an island chain 2,500 miles (0 km) long and no more than 160 miles (257 km) wide at any given point. They enclose the Caribbean Sea.[1]

In the English-speaking Caribbean, someone from the Caribbean is usually referred to as a "West Indian," although the rather cumbersome phrase "Caribbean person" is sometimes used.

Geography and climate

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A street in Barbados
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San Juan, Puerto Rico
The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies from one place to another. Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. Such islands include Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands or Antigua. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.

The climate of the region mainly ranges between sub-tropical to tropical and depends a great deal upon location in proximity to the tradewinds from the Atlantic. The tradewinds blow towards the Eastern Caribbean islands heading northwest up the chain of Windward islands.

When the tradewinds arrive close to the island of Cuba they tend to be overcome by other minor jet streams across the Caribbean region.

In the waters of the Caribbean Sea, the region can be found to host migratory, large 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 said to be the deepest point in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

In the majority of cases, hurricanes which at times 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.

Biodiversity

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Saona Island, Dominican Republic
The Caribbean Islands are classified as one of Conservation International's biodiversity hotspots because they support exceptionally diverse ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands. These ecosystems have been devastated by deforestation and human encroachment. The hotspot has dozens of highly-threatened species, including two species of solenodon (giant shrews), the Puerto Rican Amazon and the Cuban crocodile. The hotspot is also remarkable for the diminutive nature of much of its fauna.

Historical groupings

Main article: History of the Caribbean


Most islands at some point were, and a few still are, colonies of European nations; a few are overseas or dependent territories: The British West Indies were formerly united by the United Kingdom into a West Indies Federation. The independent countries which were once a part of the B.W.I. still have a unified composite cricket team that competes in Test matches and One-Day Internationals. The West Indian cricket team includes the South American nation of Guyana, the only former British colony on that continent.

In addition, these countries share the University of the West Indies as a regional entity. The university consists of three main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, a smaller campus in the Bahamas and Resident Tutors in other contributing territories.

Present-day island territories

Main article: List of islands in the Caribbean
See also:  and

Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands

The nations of Belize and Guyana, although on the mainland of Central America and South America respectively, are former British colonies and maintain many cultural ties to the Caribbean and are members of CARICOM. Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast, often referred to as the Mosquito Coast was also a former British colony and maintains many cultural ties to the Caribbean distinct to the Pacific coast. Guyana participates in West Indies cricket tournaments and many players from Guyana have been on the West Indies Test cricket team. The Turneffe Islands (and many other islands and reefs) are part of Belize and lie in the Caribbean Sea. The nation of Suriname, on the mainland of South America, is a former Dutch colony and also a member of CARICOM.

Indigenous tribes




Aruba

Anguilla

Barbados

Bonaire

British Virgin Islands

Dominica

Rastaman from Jamaica

Montserrat


Regional institutions

Here are some of the bodies that several islands share in collaboration:

See also

Footnotes

1. ^ Rogozinski, Jan (1999). A Brief History of the Caribbean, Revised, New York: Facts on File, Inc., p. 3. ISBN 0-8160-3811-2. 

Further reading

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See also


Coordinates:
West Indies


Test status granted 1928
First Test match v England at Lord's, June 1928
Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan
Coach David Moore
Official ICC Test and ODI ranking
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The West Indies may mean:
  • the Caribbean
  • the West Indies Federation, a short-lived Caribbean federation
  • the British West Indies, the former colonies of the British Empire
  • the West Indian cricket team

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West India is a region of India consisting of the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa, along with the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Maharashtra, in particular, is in many respects intermediate between North India and South India; but the region
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Dutch}}} 
Writing system: Latin alphabet (Dutch variant) 
Official status
Official language of:  Aruba
 Belgium
 European Union
 European Union
 Netherlands Antilles
 Suriname
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French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
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 Spanish, Castilian}}} 
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —

Spanish (
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Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, region medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest (which could be, for example, the world, a nation, a river basin, mountain range,
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Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.
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Caribbean Sea (pronounced IPA: /kəˈrɪbiən/ or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/
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island (IPA: /aɪ.lɪnd/) or isle (IPA: /aɪ.ʌl
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North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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Central America (Spanish: Centroamérica or América Central) is a central geographic region of the Americas. It is variably defined either as the southern portion of North America, which connects with South America on the southeast, or a region of
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South America is a continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie
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Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America.

Roughly 3.2 million square kilometers (1.
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islet is a small island. It is not to be confused with eyelet.

Definition of Types

Rock

A "rock", sometimes a synonym for a type of "islet", is a landform composed of rock, lying offshore, having no or minimal vegetation, and uninhabited (see
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reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water yet shallow enough to be a hazard to ships. Many reefs result from abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes—but the
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A cay (also spelled key or quay; all are pronounced alike as "key" IPA: /kiː/) is a small, low island consisting mostly of sand or coral.
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The Antilles (the same in French; Antillas in Spanish; Antillen in Dutch) refers to the islands forming the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea.
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Greater Antilles. The Greater Antilles are Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (composed of Haiti on the west side and the Dominican Republic on the east side) and Puerto Rico. The smaller islands in the vicinity of these four major islands are sometimes also treated as part of the group.
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Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees,[1] are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas and Greater Antilles form the West Indies. The islands are part of a long volcanic island arc, most of which wraps around the eastern end of the Caribbean
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The Leeward Antilles are a chain of islands in the Caribbean – specifically, the southerly islands of the Lesser Antilles (and, in turn, the Antilles and the West Indies) along the southeastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea, just north of the Venezuelan coast of the South
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Motto
"Forward, Upward, Onward Together"
Anthem
"March On, Bahamaland"
Royal anthem
"God Save the Queen"
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A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south or southern, are commonly used to define a subregion.
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North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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Sovereignty is the exclusive right to complete political (e.g. legislative, judicial, and/or executive) control over an area of governance, people, or oneself. A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority, subject to no other.
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A state is a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. It usually includes the set of institutions that claim the authority to make the rules that govern the people of the society in that territory, though its status as a state often depends in part on
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country, state, and nation can have various meanings. Therefore, diverse lists of these entities are possible. Wikipedia offers the following lists:

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West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958 to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom.
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English}}} 
Writing system: Latin (English variant) 
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng  
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Motto
"One Happy Island"
Anthem
Aruba Dushi Tera


Capital
(and largest city) Oranjestad

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