Caribbean Sea

Western part of the Atlantic Ocean between Cuba to the north and the northern coasts of South America to the south. Central America is to the west and to the east are the West Indies. The sea is about 2,740 km/1,700 mi long and 650–1,500 km/400–900 mi wide; area 2,640,000 sq km/1,019,304 sq mi. It is linked with the Gulf of Mexico via the Yucatan Strait. It is from here that the Gulf Stream turns towards Europe.

The Caribbean Sea was named after the Carib Indians who inhabited the area when it was reached by Spanish explorers, beginning with Christopher Columbus in 1492. It is a major maritime route for international shipping to and from the Panama Canal, and a trade route for oil, seafood, and tropical agricultural products. It is heavily polluted by untreated sewage, which destroys mangrove forests and coral reefs.