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Caribbean

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"West Indies" redirects here. For , see .
"West Indian" redirects here. For , see West India.
Central America and the Caribbean [(detailed pdf map)]
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Central America and the Caribbean [(detailed pdf map)]

The Caribbean (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe; Dutch: Caraïben; Portuguese: Caribe or Caraíbas) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. Located southeast of Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America, the Caribbean is usually considered a subregion of North America.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the area comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cayes. The West Indies, in contrast to the East Indies in southeast Asia, consist of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the east, and the Bahamas which are northeast of the sea. Bermuda lies much further to the north in the Atlantic Ocean and is sometimes included in the West Indies. Geopolitically, the West Indies are organized 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.

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The name "Caribbean" is named after the Caribs, one of the dominant Amerindian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. The analogous "West Indies" originates from Christopher Columbus' idea that he had landed in the Indies (then meaning all of south and east Asia) when he had actually reached the Americas. The Spanish term Antillas was commonly assigned to the newly discovered lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" is a common alternate name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages.

Contents

Biodiversity

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 encroachment. The hotspot has dozens of highly threatened species, including two species of solenodon (giant shrews) and the Cuban crocodile. The hotspot is also remarkable for the diminutive nature of much of its fauna, boasting the world’s smallest bird and smallest snake.

Historical groupings

Most islands at some point were, or still are, colonies of European nations:

The mostly Spanish controlled Caribbean in the sixteenth century
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The mostly Spanish controlled Caribbean in the sixteenth century

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 successfully 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 of the Caribbean

Detail of tectonic plates from: [Tectonic plates of the world]
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Detail of tectonic plates from: [Tectonic plates of the world]

British Virgin Islands''' (British dependency, shares the Virgin Islands with the U.S. Virgin Islands.)
  • *Anegada
  • *Beef Island
  • *Bellamy Cay
  • *Carvel Rock
  • *Cockroach Island
  • *Cooper Island
  • *Dead Chest Cay
  • *Diamond Cay
  • *Dog Islands
  • *Drowned Island
  • *East Seal Dog Island
  • *Eustatia Island
  • *Fallen Jerusalem Island
  • *Frenchmans Cay
  • *Grouge Dog Island
  • *Ginger Island
  • *Great Camanoe
  • *Great Dog Island
  • *Great Thatch
  • *Great Tobago Island
  • *Green Cay
  • *Guana Island
  • *Jost Van Dyke
  • *Key Cay
  • *Little Anegada
  • *Little Camanoe
  • *Little Cay
  • *Little Jost Van Dyke
  • *Little Seal Dog Island
  • *Little Thatch
  • *Little Tobago
  • *Little Wickmans Cay
  • *Marina Cay
  • *Mosquito Island
  • *Nanny Cay
  • *Necker Island
  • *Norman Island
  • *Old Jerusalem Island
  • *Oyster Rock
  • *Pelican Island
  • *Peter Island
  • *Prickly Pear Island
  • *Saba Rock
  • *Salt Cay
  • *Sandy Cay
  • *Scrub Island
  • *Spanish Island
  • *Tortola
  • *Virgin Gorda
  • *West Dog Island
  • (British dependency)
  • * Cayman Brac
  • * Grand Cayman (with the capital George Town)
  • * Little Cayman
  • *Cuba
  • *Isla de la Juventud
  • *Cayo Largo del Sur
  • *Cayo Buenavista
  • *Cayo Ines de Soto
  • *Cayo Levisa
  • *Cayo Cruz del Padre
  • *Cayo Punta Arenas
  • *Cayo Blancos del Sur
  • *Cayo Santa Maria
  • *Cayo Fragoso
  • *Cayo Esquivel
  • *Cayo Guillermo
  • *Cayo Coco
  • *Cayo Romano
  • *Cayo Guajaba
  • *Cayo Saetia
  • *and thousands of minor cays and islets.
    • Navassa Island (U.S. insular area)
  • (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
  • * Bonaire
  • ** Klein Bonaire
  • * Curaçao
  • ** Klein Curaçao
  • * Saba
  • * Sint Eustatius
  • * Sint Maarten (part of the island Saint Martin shared with Guadeloupe)
  • (U.S. commonwealth)
  • *Caja de Muertos
  • *Culebra
  • *Desecheo Island
  • *Mona
  • *Puerto Rico
  • *Vieques
  • *Nevis
  • *Saint Kitts
  • (shares the Grenadines group with Grenada)
  • * Baliceaux Island
  • * Bequia
  • * Canouan Island
  • * Mayreau
  • * Mustique
  • * Palm Island
  • * Petit Mustique
  • * Petit Saint Vincent
  • * Saint Vincent
  • * Tobago Cays
  • * Union Island
  • * Young Island
  • * Tobago
  • **Goat Island
  • **Little Tobago
  • **Saint Giles Island
  • **Sisters' Rock
  • * Trinidad
  • **Caledonia Island
  • **Carrera
  • **Chacachacare
  • **Craig Island
  • **Cronstadt (Kronstadt)
  • **Farallon
  • **Gaspar Grande
  • **Gasparillo (Little Gasparee or Centipede Island)
  • **Huevos
  • **Lenagan Island
  • **Monos
  • **Nelson Island
  • **Pelican Island
  • **Rock Island
  • **Saut d'Eau
  • **Soldado Rock
  • (U.S. territory, shares the Virgin Islands with the British Virgin Islands)
  • *Birsk Island
  • *Buck Island
  • *Capella
  • *Cas Cay
  • *Congo Cay
  • *Cow And Calf Island
  • *Dog Island
  • *Dry Rock
  • *Fish Cay
  • *Flat Cay
  • *Grass Cay
  • *Great Saint James
  • *Green Cay
  • *Hans Lollik
  • *Hassel Island
  • *Inner Brass
  • *Johnsons Reef
  • *Leduck
  • *Little Saint James
  • *Lovango Cay
  • *Mingo Cay
  • *Ningo
  • *Outer Brass
  • *Packet Rock
  • *Patricia Cay
  • *Saba Island
  • *Saint Croix
  • *Saint John
  • *Saint Thomas
  • *Savana Island
  • *South-West Rock
  • *Stranglers Island
  • *Thatch Cay
  • *Turtledove Cay
  • *Water Island
  • *Welk Rock

    • Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands

    The nations of Belize and Guyana, although on the mainland of Central America and South America respectively, were former British colonies and maintain many cultural ties to the Caribbean and are members of CARICOM. Guyana participates in West Indies cricket tournaments and many players from Guyana have been in 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.

    Island territories near the Caribbean

    Though not technically in the Caribbean Sea, the nearby Bahaman Archipelago is sometimes considered to be part of the Caribbean.

    see Islands of the Bahamas and Islands of the Turks and Caicos for a full list of the islands of the Bahaman Archipelago.

    See also

    		[[Portal:}}}|}}} Portal]]

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

     Many of the nations in the Caribbean play international cricket as one team called the West Indies.
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