The name "Caribbean" derives from the Caribs, one of the region's dominant Native American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. After Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamasin

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The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows:
On the North. In the

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The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate. The Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of

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The hydrologyof the sea has a high level of homogeneity. Annual variations in monthly average water temperatures at the surface do not exceed 3 °C (5.4

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The Caribbean is home to about 9% of the world's coral reefscovering about 50,000 km (19,000 sq mi), most of which are located off the Caribbean

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The climate of the Caribbean is driven by the low latitude and tropical ocean currents that run through it. The principal ocean current is the

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The region has a high level of biodiversity and many species are endemic to the Caribbean.
Vegetation
The vegetation of the

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