Map of the Caribbean (Antilles Archipelago)
The Caribbean islands, also known as the West Indies, are located in the Caribbean Sea / Atlantic ocean, south-east of Florida, east of Central America, and north of South America… The Caribbean contains the islands of the Greater Antilles in the north-west as well as the Lesser Antilles islands in the south-east. The Lesser Antilles are comprised of the Leeward Islands in the north and the Windward Islands of the south.
The Greater Antilles are home to the largest islands in the Caribbean, which include Cuba (42 thousand square miles or 110k sq km), Hispaniola (Haiti + Dominican Republic = 29 thousand square miles or 76k sq km in total), Jamaica (4.2 thousand square miles or 11k sq km) and Puerto Rico (3.5 thousand square miles or 9k sq km). These islands also have the largest mountain ranges in the Caribbean.
The Caribbean islands of the Greater Antilles:
- The Cayman Islands
- Cuba
- Hispaniola – Dominican Republic
- Hispaniola – Haiti
- Jamaica
- Puerto Rico
The Caribbean islands of the Lesser Antilles – Leeward Islands:
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- The British Virgin Islands
- Guadaloupe
- Monserrat
- Saba
- St. Barts
- St. Eustatius
- St. Kitts & Nevis
- St. Martin/Maarten
- The US Virgin Islands
The Caribbean islands of the Lesser Antilles – Windward Islands:
- Barbados
- Geographically not part of the Windward Islands volcanic island chain…
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Martinique
- Saint Lucia
- St. Vincent & The Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Geographically part of South America
The Dutch Caribbean islands of the Lesser Antilles:
- Aruba
- Bonaire
- Curaçao
Technically not part of the Caribbean, however we also consider the following islands and coastal areas part of the area:
- The Bahamas
- Turks & Caicos
- The Central American Caribbean
- The Mexican Caribbean
- The Colombian Caribbean
- The Venezuelan Caribbean
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