area 2 515 900 km²/971 000 sq mi. Arm of the Atlantic Ocean between the West Indies and Central and South America; linked to the Pacific by the Panama Canal; depth 6 m/20 ft on continental shelf off Nicaragua to 5058 m/16 594 ft on floor of Venezuelan Basin; deepest point, Cayman Trench, 6950 m/22 802 ft; visited by Columbus, 1493; main island groups, Greater and Lesser Antilles; major trade route and tourist area.
The Caribbean Sea (pronounced /kəˈɹɪbiən/ or /ˌkæɹəˈbiːən/) is a tropical sea in the Western Hemisphere, part of the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. A mediterranean sea, 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, are collectively 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 mile]]s).
History
The name "Caribbean" is derived from the Caribs, one of the dominant American Indian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" is a common alternate name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages.
The Caribbean Sea was a relatively unknown body of water to Europe and Asia until 1492 when Christopher Columbus first sailed into Caribbean waters while trying to find a route to India. At the time the area of the Caribbean Sea and the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to Europeans. Following the colonization of the Caribbean islands, the sea became a common ground for European trading and transport eventually attracting piracy. Due to year-round high temperatures the Caribbean has become a common place for tourism which has helped grow the cruise industry in the area ( see Cruising and Cruise ship).
Geology
The Caribbean Sea is a mediterranean sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate. The Caribbean sea floor is divided into five basins separated from each other by underwater ridges and mountain ranges. Despite this, the Caribbean Sea is considered a relatively shallow sea in comparison to other bodies of water.
The Caribbean sea floor is also home to two oceanic trenches: the Hispaniola Trench and Puerto Rico Trench, which put the area at a higher risk of earthquakes.
Ecology
The Caribbean is home to about 9% of the worlds coral reefs covering about 20,000 square miles, most of which are located off the Caribbean Islands and the Central American coast. Currently, unusually warm Caribbean waters are endangering the Caribbean coral reefs. 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. Also several charitable organization 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.
Weather
The Caribbean weather is influenced by the Gulf Stream and Humboldt Current ocean currents.
The Caribbean is the birth place of some hurricanes in the western hemisphere. These tropical storms can then develop into Atlantic Hurricanes, sometimes in the low pressure areas of the eastern Caribbean.
Economy and human activity
The Caribbean region has seen a significant increase in human activity since the colonization period. Human activity in the area also accounts for a significant amount of pollution, Pan American Health Organization estimating in 1993 that about 10% of the sewage from the Central American and Caribbean Island countries is properly treated.
The Caribbean region has a spanned a large tourist industry. The Caribbean Tourism Organization also estimated that from 1991 and 1992 the area has seen about 8 million tourists from Cruise Ship visitors.
Popular culture
The Caribbean is the setting for countless literary efforts often related to piracy and swashbuckling.
The area is also the setting for the well-known Disneyland and Disney World attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, which among other things is notable for cementing the alternative pronunciation (with the stress placed on the first and third syllables instead of the second) in many people's minds. The ride has been adapted into a series of films, which so far includes Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (to be released in 2007).
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