One of the most famous places in the world is the Caribbean Sea . This name comes from the Caribs, a native people who inhabited parts of the Lesser Antilles and South America. The Caribbean Sea has crystal-clear, warm waters that give it extraordinary beauty. Thanks to this beauty, it attracts millions of tourists year-round.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you all about the characteristics of the Caribbean Sea , its geology and formation.
Key features
This is a type of sea formed by a suboceanic basin and belonging to the Atlantic Ocean. Located in the tropical region, it has primarily warm waters. These waters have a crystalline appearance, giving them immeasurable beauty. Add to this the abundant vegetation, flora, and fauna of the surrounding area, and it becomes a true paradise.
We speak of a large body of salty water that is located exactly southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and west of the Atlantic Ocean, between latitudes 9º and 22º North and longitudes 89º and 60º West. Between the limits of this sea we find several parts. On the one hand, it limits to the south with Colombia, Venezuela and Panama. As for the west, it borders Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras and Belize. If we go further north we see that it borders Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in its northern part.
The Caribbean Sea is a vast expanse with turquoise waters and shallow waves. The average depth is around 2.200 meters. The deepest point in this sea is the Cayman Trench, which reaches 7,686 meters below sea level. Looking at the entire Caribbean Sea, we see that it is home to more than 7.000 islands, islets, and reefs. Many of these are too small to be inhabited by humans.
The entire Caribbean region has been politically defined, and since 2015, it has been established that this sea borders the coasts of 12 mainland countries and 22 island territories. This entire area is now known as the Caribbean region. Of all the islands, Cuba is the largest, while Anguilla is the smallest. If you would like to learn more about other characteristics of the seas, you can consult our section on seas and oceans.
The Caribbean Sea
If we consider the total surface area of ​​the Caribbean Sea, we find a surface area of ​​2.7 million square kilometers. This makes it one of the largest seas in the world. It's important to distinguish between ocean and sea. Seas have a much smaller surface area. Therefore, this is considered one of the largest in the world.
Among its characteristics, we find that it is a very homogeneous sea. Its salinity is not very high, but its temperature is quite high. It has an average salinity of 3.6%, while its average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius and does not usually vary by more than 3 degrees Celsius throughout the year. The highest salinity levels are recorded in the winter months. This is because the temperature decreases, reducing the water's solubility. This is why the salt concentration increases. Conversely, the season from June to December has the lowest salinity.
One of the disadvantages of this sea is that it is frequently battered by hurricanes. Despite its immeasurable beauty, with its crystal-clear waters and dense biodiversity, it is not immune to hurricanes. Being located in a tropical region, it tends to be more vulnerable to temperature changes and weather fronts. On average, around nine tropical storms form in the Caribbean Sea each year, and these can develop into hurricanes. To better understand these storms, one can consult the characteristics and magnitude of Hurricane Maria . Not all tropical storms become hurricanes, but due to climate change, this probability is increasing year after year. Not only is the likelihood of hurricanes increasing, but so is their intensity.
Formation of the Caribbean Sea
This body of water is currently located on the Caribbean Plate. This tectonic plate borders the North American, South American, Nazca, and Cocos Plates. Scientists have studied the possible origin of this sea and believe it to be 180 million years old . During the Devonian period, a basin known as the Proto-Caribbean already existed. It was here that this sea began to form as a result of the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, which ruled the planet at that time.
Because Pangaea broke apart into two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana, continental drift began to take effect. With its northward movement and its convergence with Laurasia during the Carboniferous period , the size of the oceans decreased significantly. However, later, during the Triassic period , the landmasses began to rift, creating new landmasses. It was during the Jurassic period that the Gulf of Mexico began to grow to its present size. Further rifts appeared during the Jurassic period, filling the southern basins with water.
For millions of years, the Caribbean Sea increased its water volume, and by the Cretaceous period , it had acquired a shape similar to its present one. This happened 85 million years ago . Due to plate tectonics, a segment of oceanic crust, between 8 and 21 kilometers thick, moved into the Caribbean Basin. Even today, some of this oceanic crust remains on the seabed.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Caribbean Sea and its characteristics.