Table of Contents
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west and southwest by Mexico and Central America, on the north by Cuba and the Greater Antilles, on the east by the Lesser Antilles, and on the south by the northern coast of South America. Northwest is where the Gulf of Mexico is located. Southeast of the Gulf of Mexico, in the Western Hemisphere’s Atlantic Ocean, is the Caribbean Sea, a tropical sea.
The Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico), the Lesser Antilles (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize), Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama form the southern, western, and eastern borders of the Caribbean Sea.
Read about: Indian Ocean
Caribbean Sea on World Map
The Caribbean Sea, located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and part of the Atlantic Ocean, is a tropical sea in the Western Hemisphere.
Read More: South China Sea
Caribbean Sea Islands/Boundaries
- South: Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama;
- West: Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize);
- North: the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Dominica, and Puerto Rico);
- East: the Lesser Antilles. (In the eastern Caribbean Sea, Anguilla is a British overseas territory.)
Read More: East China Sea
Caribbean Sea Significance
The Caribbean Sea is significant for several reasons:
- Strategic Location: The Caribbean Sea provides access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, making it an important shipping route for goods and people.
- Tourism: The Caribbean is famous for its tropical climate, clear waters, and white sand beaches, making it a popular tourist destination.
- Natural Resources: The Caribbean Sea is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, and minerals, which provide valuable economic benefits to the region.
- Biodiversity: The Caribbean Sea is home to a diverse range of plant and animal species, including many that are found nowhere else on Earth.
- Culture: The Caribbean is also significant for its unique blend of African, indigenous, and European cultures, which has produced a rich cultural heritage in the region.
Read More: Ocean Waves
Caribbean Sea Climatology
The Caribbean is also affected by hurricanes, which pose significant risks to the region’s coastal communities and economies. Low latitude and tropical ocean currents that flow through the Caribbean influence its climate. The North Equatorial Current, which comes from the tropical Atlantic, is the main ocean current in the area.
The region has a tropical climate, which can range from tropical savanna to tropical rainforest depending on where you are. There are however some places with dry climates that experience severe drought on occasion. Rainfall changes according to water currents, size, and altitude (cool upwelling keeps the ABC islands arid). Consistent easterly trade winds that are warm and humid bring both semi-arid and rainforest climates to the region.
Lowland regions near the Caribbean Sea from Costa Rica north to Belize, as well as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, experience tropical rainforest climates, whereas Cuba, northern Venezuela, and the southern Yucatán region of Mexico experience more seasonally dry tropical savanna climates. The northern tip of Yucatán, as well as the extreme southern coast of Venezuela and the islands of Aruba and Curaçao, all have arid climates. The countries that surround the Caribbean Sea are at risk from tropical cyclones. Despite how infrequent they are, landfalls pose a serious threat to life in the Caribbean due to the deaths and property damage they cause.
While other storms form within the Caribbean proper, tropical cyclones that affect the Caribbean frequently form off the West Coast of Africa and travel west across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Caribbean. The bulk of storms strikes the Caribbean between August and September within the entire hurricane season, which runs from June through November. Each year, on average, nine tropical storms develop, five of which become hurricanes. Between 1494 and 1900, the Caribbean experienced 385 storms, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Read More: Climatology
Caribbean Sea UPSC
The Caribbean Sea is referred to as a Marginal sea and a Mediterranean sea, respectively. Along with the Dead Sea, the Caspian Sea is also referred to as a marginal sea. Marginal seas are oceanic extensions that are partially encircled by land. The North Sea, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and Bering Sea are a few examples of marginal seas. Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, and Dead Sea are a few instances of inland oceans that are totally encircled by land.
Read More: Ocean Deposits
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