The Caribbean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It covers an area of about 2,754,000 square kilometers which makes it one of the largest seas in the world. Its average depth is about 2,200 meters below the sea’s surface. The Cayman Trench is the deepest part at 7,686 meters below sea level which is located between Jamaica and Cuba.
It has about 9% of the world’s coral reefs covering about 50,000 square kilometers. It is also home to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef which is the world’s second largest barrier reef.
Quick Facts: –
- There are many gulfs and bays on the Caribbean coastline including the Gulf of Gonâve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darién and Gulf of Paria.
- The largest island in the Caribbean Sea is Cuba that covers an area of 109,884 square kilometers.
- The Caribbean island of Saba has the shortest commercial runway on the planet. The strip is just 396 meters long.
- There are approximately 7,000 islands in the Caribbean Sea which belong to 28 different nations.
- Out of the total 7,000 islands in the sea, only 2% of them are actually inhabited.
- It is home to 90 different species of mammals including sperm whales, humpback whales etc.
- There are a total of 600 species of birds that have been recorded and 163 of them are endemic.
- The average temperature of the sea is 27 degree Celsius and it does not vary more than 3 degrees.
- The Caribbean sea is one of the largest oil producing regions in the world as it provides approximately 170 million tons of oil every year.
