The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/) is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which are enclosed by the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and North America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands, called the West Indies, generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea. These islands are called the West Indies because whenChristopher Columbus landed there in 1492 he believed that he had reached to the west of the Indian sub-continent.
The region consists of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands or the Lucayan Archipelago, which are in fact in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, not in the Caribbean Sea.
Geopolitically, the West Indies are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then UK dependencies. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations.
The Caribbean region lies in the tropical zone, specifically within the tropical trade wind belt. This location gives the region its warm climate, with temperatures typically staying high year-round.
Roatan is an island located in the country of Honduras. It is situated between Utila and Guanaja, also islands of Honduras.
Mount Pelée lies on a convergent plate boundary, where the Caribbean Plate is being subducted beneath the North American Plate. This subduction zone lies in the Lesser Antilles island arc in the eastern Caribbean.
The three major climate zones are tropical, temperate, and polar. The tropical zone is located near the Equator and has warm temperatures year-round. The temperate zone is found between the tropics and the polar regions, with distinct seasons. The polar zone is situated near the poles and experiences extremely cold temperatures.
The Haiti earthquake in 2010 was caused by a strike-slip fault interaction along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault Zone. This fault zone is located along the boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate.
The Caribbean
Haiti is situated on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone, which is a strike-slip fault zone. This fault zone is capable of generating large earthquakes, such as the one that devastated Haiti in 2010.
San Francisco is situated in the temperate zone.
In Florida
the Caribbean
it is situated in the Caribbean
The Caribbean is considered part of North America.
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Jamaica is situated in the Caribbean Sea
Jamaica is well known as the Jewel of the Caribbean. It is a memeber of Caricom and sits in about the center of the Caribbean Sea.
It is situated near the edge of the Caribbean plate and the North American plate
"Caribbean" is a singular noun. It refers to the region situated in the Caribbean Sea and comprises multiple islands, but as a collective noun, it is considered singular.