Caribbean Destination
I. Introduction
Caribbean
Area
2,754,000 km2 (1,063,000 sq mi)
Land area
239,681 km2 (92,541 sq mi)
Population (2009)
39,169,962
Density
151.5 /km2
Ethnic groups
Afro-Caribbean, European, Indo-Caribbean, Chinese Caribbean,[2] Amerindians (Arawak, Caribs, Taínos)
Demonym
West Indian, Caribbean person, Caribbean
Languages
Spanish, English, French, Dutch, among others
Government
13 sovereign states; 17 dependent territories
Largest cities
Santo Domingo
Havana
Santiago de los Caballeros
Port-au-Prince
Kingston
Santiago de Cuba
San Juan
Port of Spain
Time zone
UTC-5to UTC-4
The Caribbean is a tropical region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean), and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea. We can divide the Caribbean into six destination groupings. The first two, Bermuda and the Bahamas, aren’t even part of the Caribbean, though many think of them as such. Bermuda is way off in the Atlantic, at about the same latitude as Charleston, South Carolina, and the Bahamas is a string of 700 hundreds islands that stretches southeastward from Florida into the Atlantic. Geographers label the third cluster the Greater Antilles. Just south and southeast of Florida, they are, from left to right on the map, Cuba; the Cayman Islands; Jamaica; Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and Puerto Rico.
The fourth set of islands forms a crescent on the Caribbean’s eastern side, starting near Puerto Rico and curving gently southward toward the shores of Venezuela. Because of their comparatively small size, they’re called the Lesser Antilles. Trying
Caribbean
Area
2,754,000 km2 (1,063,000 sq mi)
Land area
239,681 km2 (92,541 sq mi)
Population (2009)
39,169,962
Density
151.5 /km2
Ethnic groups
Afro-Caribbean, European, Indo-Caribbean, Chinese Caribbean,[2] Amerindians (Arawak, Caribs, Taínos)
Demonym
West Indian, Caribbean person, Caribbean
Languages
Spanish, English, French, Dutch, among others
Government
13 sovereign states; 17 dependent territories
Largest cities
Santo Domingo
Havana
Santiago de los Caballeros
Port-au-Prince
Kingston
Santiago de Cuba
San Juan
Port of Spain
Time zone
UTC-5to UTC-4
The Caribbean is a tropical region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean), and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea. We can divide the Caribbean into six destination groupings. The first two, Bermuda and the Bahamas, aren’t even part of the Caribbean, though many think of them as such. Bermuda is way off in the Atlantic, at about the same latitude as Charleston, South Carolina, and the Bahamas is a string of 700 hundreds islands that stretches southeastward from Florida into the Atlantic. Geographers label the third cluster the Greater Antilles. Just south and southeast of Florida, they are, from left to right on the map, Cuba; the Cayman Islands; Jamaica; Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and Puerto Rico.
The fourth set of islands forms a crescent on the Caribbean’s eastern side, starting near Puerto Rico and curving gently southward toward the shores of Venezuela. Because of their comparatively small size, they’re called the Lesser Antilles. Trying
References: Hillman, Richard S., and Thomas J. D 'agostino, eds. (2003). Understanding the contemporary Caribbean Worldatalas, (n.d.). North America-The Caribbean. Retrieved November 14, 2013 from http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/carib.htm. Travel Guide, (n.d.). Travel Guide-Coming soon. Retrieved November 14, 2013 from http://www.travelguide.com/. Wikipedia, (2013, October 24). The Caribbean. Retrieved November 15, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carribean. Henke, Holger, & Fred Reno, eds. (2003). Modern political culture in the Caribbean. Kingston: University of West Indies Press.