Caribbean Sea
From Free net encyclopedia
The Caribbean Sea is a tropical body of water, part of the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. It covers most of the Caribbean Plate and is bounded on the south by South America, on the west and south by Central America, and on the north and east by the Antilles: the Greater Antilles islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico lie to the north, and a plethora of Lesser Antilles bound the sea on the east. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the numerous islands of the West Indies, and adjacent coasts is known as the Caribbean.
The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest salt water seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km² (1,063,000 square miles). The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trench, between Cuba and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,220 feet) below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays: the Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darien, Golfo de los Mosquitos and Gulf of Honduras.
The name "Caribbean" is derived from the Caribs, one of the dominant Amerindian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. After discovery of the West Indies by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the Spanish term Antillas was commonly assigned to the lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" is a common alternate name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages. After European discovery and into the early 18th century, piracy in the Caribbean Sea was fairly common.
See also
bg:Карибско море ca:Mar Carib cs:Karibské moře da:Caribiske Hav de:Karibik el:Καραϊβική Θάλασσα et:Kariibi meri es:Mar Caribe eo:Kariba Maro fa:دریای کارائیب fr:Mer des Caraïbes ga:Muir na Cairibe gl:Mar Caribe ko:카리브 해 id:Laut Karibia ia:Mar Caribe is:Karíbahaf it:Mare Caraibico he:הים הקריבי kw:Mor Karib la:Mare Caribium lt:Karibų jūra mk:Карипско Море nl:Caribische Zee nds:Karibik ja:カリブ海 no:Det karibiske hav pap:Laman Karibe pl:Morze Karaibskie ru:Карибское море sk:Karibské more sl:Karibsko morje fi:Karibianmeri sv:Karibiska havet zh:加勒比海 zh-min-nan:Carib-hái