Caribbean Sea

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Caribbean Sea

15°N 75°WCoordinates: 15°N 75°W

Coordinates

Type Sea

Surface area 2,754,000 km2(1,063,000 sq mi)

Max. depth 7,686 m (25,217 ft)

Coral reef, near Soufrière Quarter, Saint Lucia

The Caribbean Sea (Spanish: Mar Caribe; French: Mer des Caraïbes; Dutch: Caraïbische Zee) is
a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. 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 entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the numerous islands of the West Indies, and adjacent
coasts, are collectively known as the Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and
has an area of about 2,754,000 km2 (1,063,000 sq mi).[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. 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.
The Caribbean Sea has the world's second biggest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. It
runs 1,000 km (620 mi) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.[3]

Contents

 1History
 2Extent
 3Geology
 4Oceanography
 5Ecology
 6Climate
 7Flora and fauna
o 7.1Vegetation
o 7.2Fauna
 8Economy and human activity
 9In popular culture
 10Gallery
 11See also
 12References
 13Further reading
 14External links

History[edit]
Main article: History of the Caribbean

Christopher Columbus landing on Hispaniola in 1492.

The name "Caribbean" derives from the Caribs, one of the region's dominant Native
American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. 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. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region
remained undisputed.
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]

Tulum, Maya city on the coast of the Caribbean in the state of Quintana Roo (Mexico)

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. At that time
the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to most Europeans, although it had been
discovered between the years 800 and 1000 by the vikings. 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). 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.
As of 2015 the area is home to 22 island territories and borders 12 continental countries.

Extent[edit]
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows:[5]
On the North. In the Windward Channel – a line joining Caleta Point (74°15′W) and Pearl
Point (19°40′N) in Haïti. In the Mona Passage – a line joining Cape Engaño and the extreme
of Agujereada (18°31′N 67°08′W) in Puerto Rico.

Coral reefs in the British Virgin Islands

Eastern limits. From Point San Diego (Puerto Rico) Northward along the meridian thereof
(65°39′W) to the 100-fathom line, thence Eastward and Southward, in such a manner that all
islands, shoals and narrow waters of the Lesser Antilles are included in the Caribbean Sea
as far as Galera Point (Northeast extremity of the island of Trinidad). From Galera Point
through Trinidad to Galeota Point (Southeast extreme) and thence to Baja Point
(9°32′N 61°0′W) in Venezuela.
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.

Geology[edit]
The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate. The
Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The
youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad
and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela. 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. The larger islands in the northern part of
the sea Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaicaand Puerto Rico lie on an older island arc.
The geological age of the Caribbean Sea is estimated to be between 160 and 180 million
years and was formed by a horizontal fracture that split the supercontinent called Pangea in
the Mesozoic Era.[6] It is assumed the proto-caribbean basin existed in the Devonian period.
In the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with
the Euramerica basin decreased in size. The next stage of the Caribbean Sea's formation
began in the Triassic. 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. 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. The emergence of deep basins in the Caribbean occurred during the Middle
Jurassic rifting. 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. During
the Cretaceous the Caribbean acquired the shape close to that seen today. 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. The Caribbean remained like
this for most of the Cenozoic until the Holocene when rising water levels of the oceans
restored communication with the Atlantic Ocean.

The shaded relief map of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexicoarea.[7][8]

The Caribbean's floor is composed of sub-oceanic sediments of deep red clay in the deep
basins and troughs. On continental slopes and ridges calcareous silts are found. Clay
minerals likely having been deposited by the mainland river Orinoco and the Magdalena
River. 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.
The Caribbean sea floor is divided into five basins separated from each other by underwater
ridges and mountain ranges. Atlantic Ocean water enters the Caribbean through
the Anegada Passage lying between the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands and
the Windward Passagelocated between Cuba and Haiti. The Yucatán Channel between
Mexico and Cuba links the Gulf of Mexico with the Caribbean. The deepest points of the sea
lie in Cayman Trough with depths reaching approximately 7,686 m (25,220 ft). Despite this,
the Caribbean Sea is considered a relatively shallow sea in comparison to other bodies of
water.

Caribbean Sea view from Bodden Town, Grand Cayman

Caribbean plate tectonics

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. There was a very serious eruption of Mount
Pelée in 1902 which caused many casualties.
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.
Underwater earthquakes pose a threat of generating tsunamis which could have a
devastating effect on the Caribbean islands. Scientific data reveals that over the last 500
years the area has seen a dozen earthquakes above 7.5 magnitude.[9]Most recently, a 7.1
earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.

 List of islands in the Caribbean

Oceanography[edit]

Sketch of the North Equatorial Current and the Gulf Stream

The hydrology of the sea has a high level of homogeneity. Annual variations in monthly
average water temperatures at the surface do not exceed 3 °C (5.4 °F). 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. Virtually all temperature extremes were associated
with the phenomena of El Niño and La Niña. 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). The surface water colour is blue-
green to green.
The Caribbean's depth in its wider basins and deep water temperatures are similar to those
of the Atlantic. Atlantic deep water is thought to spill into the Caribbean and contribute to the
general deep water of its sea.[10] 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. On the western side of the sea the trade winds influence a northerly
current which causes an upwelling and a rich fishery near Yucatán.[11]

Ecology[edit]
The Caribbean is home to about 9% of the world's coral reefs covering about
50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), most of which are located off the Caribbean Islands and
the Central American coast.[12] 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. It forms part of
the Great Mayan Reef also known as the MBRS and being over 1,000 km (600 mi) in length
is the world's second longest. It runs along the Caribbean coasts
of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.
During the past ten years,[when?] unusually warm Caribbean waters have been
increasingly threatening Caribbean coral reefs. Coral reefs support some of the most diverse
marine habitats in the world, but they are fragile ecosystems. When tropical waters become
unusually warm for extended periods of time, microscopic plants called zooxanthellae, which
are symbiotic partners living within the coral polyp tissues, die off. These plants provide food
for the corals, and give them their color. The result of the death and dispersal of these tiny
plants is called coral bleaching, and can lead to the devastation of large areas of reef. Over
42% of corals are completely bleached and 95% are experiencing some type of
whitening.[13] Historically the Caribbean is thought to contain 14% of the world's coral reefs.[14]

The Belize Barrier Reef photographed from the International Space Station in 2016
The habitats supported by the reefs are critical to such tourist activities as fishing and diving,
and provide an annual economic value to Caribbean nations of US$3.1–4.6 billion.
Continued destruction of the reefs could severely damage the region's
economy.[15] A Protocol of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine
Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region came in effect in 1986 to protect the various
endangered marine life of the Caribbean through forbidding human activities that would
advance the continued destruction of such marine life in various areas. Currently this
protocol has been ratified by 15 countries.[16] 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.[17]

Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

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 findings indicate that heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic,
and lead, have been identified in the coast