Caribbean Photos:

Caribbean
Photo:1
Caribbean
Photo:2
Caribbean
Photo:3
Caribbean
Photo:4


Caribbean Basic Informations:

Etymology
2> The region takes its name from that of the Carib, an ethnic group present in the Lesser Antilles and parts of adjacent South America at the time of European contact.[10] [edit]

Tags:Antilles,Lesser Antilles,Carib,Ethnic Group,
Definition
2> Map of the Caribbean The word "Caribbean" has multiple uses. Its principal ones are geographical and political. The Caribbean can also be expanded to include territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery, European colonisation and the plantation system. The United Nations geoscheme for the Americas accords the Caribbean as a distinct region within The Americas. Physiographically, the Caribbean region consists mainly of the Caribbean Sea to north, bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, the Northern Atlantic Ocean which lies to the east and northeast, and a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea; the coastline of the continent of South America lies to the south. Politically, "Caribbean" may be centred on socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example the block known as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) contains both the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Suriname found in South America, along with Belize in Central America as full members. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands which are found in the Atlantic Ocean are associate members of the Caribbean Community, and the same goes for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas which is a full member of the Caribbean Community. Alternately the organisation known as the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) consists of almost every nation in the surrounding regions which lie on the Caribbean plus El Salvador which lies solely on the Pacific Ocean. According to the ACS the total population of its member states is some 227 million people.[11] [edit]

Tags:Multiple,Gulf Of Mexico,Atlantic Ocean,Guyana,Bahamas,Turks And Caicos Islands,Slavery,European Colonisation,Plantation,Co-operative Republic Of Guyana,Republic Of Suriname,Belize,Bermuda,El Salvador,The Bahamas,Mexico,
Geography and climate
2>   The Caribbean plate The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies: Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. These islands include Aruba (possessing only minor volcanic features), Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, The Bahamas or Antigua. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominica, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Tortola, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Trinidad & Tobago. The climate of the region is tropical but rainfall varies with elevation, size and water currents (cool upwellings keep the ABC islands arid). Warm, moist tradewinds blow consistently from the east creating rainforest/semidesert divisions on mountainous islands. Occasional northwesterlies affect the northern islands in the winter. The region enjoys year-round sunshine, divided into 'dry' and 'wet' seasons, with the last six months of the year being wetter than the first half. The waters of the Caribbean Sea host large, migratory schools of fish, turtles, and coral reef formations. The Puerto Rico trench, located on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea just to the north of the island of Puerto Rico, is the deepest point in all of the Atlantic Ocean.[12] Hurricanes, which at times batter the region, usually strike northwards of Grenada, and to the west of Barbados. The principal hurricane belt arcs to northwest of the island of Barbados in the Eastern Caribbean. The region sits in the line of several major shipping routes with the Panama Canal connecting the western Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. Beach in Tobago Puerto Rico's south shore, from the mountains of Jayuya Puerto Cruz beach in Margarita Island, Venezuela Grand Anse beach, St. George's, Grenada [edit]

Tags:/,Venezuela,Aruba,Barbados,Bonaire,Cayman Islands,Saint Croix,Antigua,Cuba,Hispaniola,Puerto Rico,Jamaica,Dominica,Montserrat,Saba,Saint Kitts,Saint Lucia,Saint Thomas,Saint John,Tortola,Grenada,Saint Vincent,Guadeloupe,Martinique,Trinidad & Tobago,Abc Islands,Coral Reef,Tobago,Margarita Island,Trinidad,Panama,
Island groups
3> Lucayan Archipelago[13]  Bahamas  Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom) Greater Antilles  Cuba Hispaniola  Haiti  Dominican Republic  Jamaica  Cayman Islands (United Kingdom)  Puerto Rico (U.S. Commonwealth) Lesser Antilles Leeward Islands  U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Croix Saint Thomas Saint John Water Island  British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom) Tortola Virgin Gorda Anegada Jost Van Dyke  Anguilla (United Kingdom)  Antigua and Barbuda Antigua Barbuda Redonda Saint Martin  Saint Martin (French Antilles, France)  Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands) Saba (BES islands, Netherlands) Sint Eustatius (BES islands, Netherlands)  Saint Barthélemy (French Antilles, France)  Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts Nevis  Montserrat (United Kingdom)  Guadeloupe (French Antilles, France) including les Saintes Marie-Galante la Désirade Windward Countries  Dominica  Martinique (French Antilles, France)  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent The Grenadines  Grenada Grenada Carriacou and Petite Martinique  Barbados  Trinidad and Tobago Tobago Trinidad  Guyana Leeward Antilles  Aruba (Kingdom of the Netherlands)  Curaçao (Kingdom of the Netherlands) Bonaire (BES islands, Netherlands) [edit]

Tags:Greater Antilles,Leeward Antilles,Lucayan Archipelago,U.s. Commonwealth,U.s. Virgin Islands,British Virgin Islands,Virgin Gorda,Anegada,Antigua And Barbuda,Barbuda,Redonda,Saint Martin,Sint Maarten,Kingdom Of The Netherlands,Bes Islands,Sint Eustatius,Saint Barthélemy,Saint Kitts And Nevis,French Antilles,Les Saintes,Marie-galante,La Désirade,Saint Vincent And The Grenadines,Trinidad And Tobago,Curaçao,Anguilla,Virgin Islands,Dominican Republic,Haiti,
Historical groupings
3> Main article: History of the Caribbean Political evolution of Central America and the Caribbean from 1700 to present The mostly Spanish-controlled Caribbean in the 16th century All islands at some point were, and a few still are, colonies of European nations; a few are overseas or dependent territories: British West Indies/Anglophone Caribbean – Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bay Islands, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Croix (briefly), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago (from 1797) and the Turks and Caicos Islands Danish West Indies – present-day United States Virgin Islands Dutch West Indies – Aruba, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Virgin Islands, Saint Croix (briefly), Tobago and Bay Islands (briefly) French West Indies – Anguilla (briefly), Antigua and Barbuda (briefly), Dominica, Dominican Republic (briefly), Grenada, Haiti, Montserrat (briefly), Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius (briefly), Sint Maarten, St. Kitts (briefly), Tobago (briefly), Saint Croix, the current French overseas départements of Martinique and Guadeloupe (including Marie-Galante, La Désirade and Les Saintes), and the current French overseas collectivities of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin Portuguese West Indies – present-day Barbados, known as Os Barbados in the 16th century when the Portuguese claimed the island en route to Brazil. The Portuguese left Barbados abandoned in 1533, nearly a century prior to the British arrival to the island. Spanish West Indies – Cuba, Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic, Haiti (until 1609 to France)), Puerto Rico, Jamaica (until 1655 to Great Britain), the Cayman Islands (until 1670 to Great Britain) Trinidad (until 1797 to Great Britain) and Bay Islands (until 1643 to Great Britain), coastal islands of Central America (minus Belize), and some Caribbean coastal islands of Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Swedish West Indies – present-day French Saint-Barthélemy and Guadeloupe (briefly). Courlander West Indies – Tobago (until 1691) The British West Indies were united by the United Kingdom into a West Indies Federation between 1958 and 1962. The independent countries formerly part of the B.W.I. still have a joint cricket team that competes in Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. The West Indian cricket team includes the South American nation of Guyana, the only former British colony on that continent. In addition, these countries share the University of the West Indies as a regional entity. The university consists of three main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, a smaller campus in the Bahamas and Resident Tutors in other contributing territories such as Trinidad. [edit]

Tags:West India,Dependent Territories,South American,Colonies,Overseas Or Dependent Territories,British West Indies,Bay Islands,Danish West Indies,United States Virgin Islands,Dutch West Indies,French West Indies,St. Kitts,Overseas ,Overseas Collectivities,Portuguese West Indies,Spanish West Indies,Colombia,
Modern day island territories
3> Islands in and near the Caribbean Main article: List of islands in the Caribbean See also: Caribbean South America and Caribbean basin  Anguilla (British overseas territory)  Antigua and Barbuda (Constitutional monarchy)  Aruba (Kingdom of the Netherlands)  Bahamas (Constitutional monarchy)  Barbados (Constitutional monarchy)  Bonaire (special municipality of the Netherlands)  British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)  Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)  Cuba (Republic)  Curaçao (Kingdom of the Netherlands)  Dominica (Republic)  Dominican Republic  Grenada (Constitutional monarchy)  Guadeloupe (overseas department of France) including les Saintes Marie-Galante la Désirade  Haiti (Republic)  Jamaica (Constitutional monarchy)  Martinique (overseas department of France)  Montserrat (British overseas territory)  Puerto Rico (commonwealth of the United States)  Saba (Netherlands)  Saint Barthélemy (overseas collectivity of France)  Saint Kitts and Nevis (Constitutional monarchy)  Saint Lucia (Constitutional monarchy)  Saint Martin (overseas collectivity of France)  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Constitutional monarchy)  Sint Eustatius (special municipality of the Netherlands)  Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands)  Trinidad and Tobago (Republic)  Turks and Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)  United States Virgin Islands (territory of the United States) [edit]

Tags:
Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands
3>  Belize Ambergris Caye Belize City Big Creek Caye Caulker Glover's Reef Dangriga Hicks Cays Hopkins Lighthouse Reef Placencia Punta Gorda St. George's Caye South Water Caye Turneffe Islands  Colombia Archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia Barranquilla Cartagena Riohacha Santa Marta  Costa Rica  Guatemala  Honduras Guanaja Roatán Útila Cayos Cochinos Swan Islands  Mexico Quintana Roo Cancún Chetumal Cozumel Isla Contoy Isla Mujeres  Nicaragua Corn Islands Miskito Cays Pearl Cays  Panama Kuna Yala Islands (comprising more than 1300 islands) Bocas del Toro Archipelago (archipelago with approximately 300 islands)  United States Florida Keys Navassa Island  Venezuela Isla Margarita Coche Island Cubagua Island Los Monjes Archipelago Las Aves archipelago Isla Aves Los Hermanos Archipelago Islas Los Frailes Los Roques archipelago La Sola Island La Tortuga Island La Orchila Blanquilla Island Los Testigos Islands Isla de Patos Paraguaná [edit]

Tags:Cays,
Biodiversity
2> This section requires expansion. The Caribbean islands are remarkable for the diversity of their animals, fungi and plants, and have been classified as one of Conservation International's biodiversity hotspots because of their exceptionally diverse terrestrial and marine ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands. The region also contains about 8% (by surface area) of the world's coral reefs[14] along with extensive seagrass meadows,[15] both of which are frequently found in the shallow marine waters bordering island and continental coasts off the region. For the fungi, there is a modern checklist based on nearly 90,000 records derived from specimens in reference collections, published accounts and field observations.[16] That checklist includes more than 11250 species of fungi recorded from the region. As its authors note, the work is far from exhaustive, and it is likely that the true total number of fungal species already known from the Caribbean is higher. The true total number of fungal species occurring in the Caribbean, including species not yet recorded, is likely to be far higher, given the generally accepted estimate that only about 7% of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered.[17] Although the amount of available information is still very small, a first effort has been made to estimate the number of fungal species endemic to some Caribbean islands. For Cuba, 2200 species of fungi have been tentatively identified as possible endemics of the island;[18] for Puerto Rico, the number is 789 species;[19] for the Dominican Republic, the number is 699 species;[20] for Trinidad and Tobago, the number is 407 species.[21] Many of the ecosystems of the Caribbean islands have been devastated by deforestation, pollution, and human encroachment. The arrival of the first humans is correlated with extinction of giant owls and dwarf ground sloths.[22] The hotspot contains dozens of highly threatened animals (ranging from birds, to mammals and reptiles), fungi and plants. Examples of threatened animals include the Puerto Rican Amazon, two species of solenodon (giant shrews) in Cuba and the Hispaniola island, and the Cuban crocodile. Saona Island, Dominican Republic The region's coral reefs, which contain about 70 species of hard corals and between 500-700 species of reef-associated fishes[23] have undergone rapid decline in ecosystem integrity in recent years, and are considered particularly vulnerable to global warming and ocean acidification.[24] [edit]

Tags:Reefs,
Demographics
2> A linen market in Dominica in the 1770s Cuban school children The population of the Caribbean is estimated to have been around 750,000 immediately before European contact, although lower and higher figures are given. After contact, social disruption and epidemic diseases such as smallpox and measles (to which they had no natural immunity)[25] led to a decline in the Amerindian population.[26] From 1500 to 1800 the population rose as slaves arrived from West Africa[27] such as the Kongo, Igbo, Akan, Fon and Yoruba as well as military prisoners and captured slaves from Ireland, who were deported during the Cromwellian reign in England.[28] Immigrants from Britain, Italy. France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark also arrived, although the mortality rate was high for both groups.[29] The population is estimated to have reached 2.2 million by 1800.[30] Immigrants from India, China, and other countries arrived in the 19th century.[31] After the ending of the Atlantic slave trade, the population increased naturally.[32] The total regional population was estimated at 37.5 million by 2000.[33] The majority of the Caribbean has populations of mainly Africans in the French Caribbean, Anglophone Caribbean and Dutch Caribbean, there are minorities of mixed-race and European peoples of Dutch, English, French, Italian and Portuguese ancestry. Asians, especially those of Chinese and Indian descent, form a significant minority in the region and also contribute to multiracial communities. All of their ancestors arrived in the 19th century as indentured laborers. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean have primarily mixed race, African, or European majorities. Puerto Rico has a European majority with a mixture of European-African(mulatto), and a large West African minority. One third of Cuba's (largest Caribbean island) population is of African descent, with a sizable Mulatto (mixed African–European) population, and European majority. The Dominican Republic has a largely mixed majority who are primarily descended from West Africans and Spaniards, with some Amerindians. Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago Larger islands such as Jamaica, have a very large African majority, in addition to a significant mixed race, Chinese, Europeans, Indian, Lebanese, Latin American, and Syrian populations. This is a result of years of importation of slaves and indentured labourers, and migration. Most multi-racial Jamaicans refer to themselves as either mixed race or simply Black. The situation is similar for the Caricom states of Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago has a multi-racial cosmopolitan society due to the arrival of the Africans, Indians, Chinese, Syrians, Lebanese, Native Amerindians and Europeans. This multi-racial mix has created sub-ethnicities that often straddle the boundaries of major ethnicities and include Chindian and Dougla. [edit]

Tags:Amerindians,
Language
3> Main article: Caribbean Languages Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Haitian Creole and Papiamento are the predominant official languages of various countries in the region, though a handful of unique Creole languages or dialects can also be found from one country to another. [edit]

Tags:
Religion
3> See also: :Category:Religion in the Caribbean Christianity is the predominant religion in the Caribbean. Other religious groups in the region are: Hinduism, Islam, Rastafari, Santería, and Voodoo among others. [edit]

Tags:
Regionalism
3> Flag of the Caribbean Common Market and Community (CARICOM) Caribbean societies are very different from other Western societies in terms of size, culture, and degree of mobility of their citizens.[34] The current economic and political problems which the states face individually are common to all Caribbean states. Regional development has contributed to attempts to subdue current problems and avoid projected problems. From a political economic perspective, regionalism serves to make Caribbean states active participants in current international affairs through collective coalitions. In 1973, the first political regionalism in the Caribbean Basin was created by advances of the English-speaking Caribbean nations through the institution known as the Caribbean Common Market and Community (CARICOM).

Tags:

z³ote monety