Several people throughout the year visit the beautiful islands of the Caribbean. People who still aren’t aware of the beautiful place should definitely learn about it more. The islands are spectacular and so are the inhabitants. Most of their main economy depends on the tourism. Most tourists hail from the countries of the USA and the UK as it is quite popular over there. One of the luxurious things one can do is to rent a Villa in the Caribbean and then explore the islands. So, we thought of bringing forth facts about the beautiful place. This would help many people in knowing the Caribbean in a much better way. So, let us begin.
Amazing Facts about the Caribbean:
We cannot possibly touch every fact, so we have kept them simple and easy to understand. We really hope that you love the facts. So, here are some of the facts:
- Location of the Caribbean Islands:
We can say that the location of the islands is south-east to the Gulf of Mexico and the Northern American mainland. When we measure it from North to South it comes to approximately 1,000 miles. On measuring from East to West it is about 2,500 miles. Their situation is generally regarded as the Caribbean Plate.
- What is the Caribbean made of?
There are lots of things going on in this area. It is said that the Caribbean is made up of more than 700 islands, islets, reefs,and cays that surround the Caribbean Sea. The geography of the place is diverse as you are getting coral reeds, mountains, waterfalls, valleys, volcanoes and tropical rainforests.
The Caribbean has been divided into four sections to make it easy on people. Also, these sections comprise of the island nations of the Caribbean. These are:
- The Greater Antilles containing islands such as Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands.
- The Lesser Antilles includes Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Saint Martin, Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts & Nevis, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
- The Leeward Antilles includes Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire.
- The Windward Islands include Barbados, Dominica, Grenada with sister island Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago.
- Beyond this, there is a region of the Lucayan Archipelago which doesn’t really fall in the Caribbean area but they are included in it. The nation of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos falls under this place.
Only 2% of the islands present in the Caribbean area are actually inhabited by people
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- Population:
About 42.5 million or more people reside in the Caribbean area. Among them, about 11.4 million are from Cuba and about 10.8 million are from Haiti. Montserrat has a population of about 5,200 people after the eruption of the Soufrière Hills Volcano. Multiculturalism is present in all of the Caribbean. Christianity of some form of the other is the main religion. There are some interesting religions like the voodoo, Santeriá,andOrisha. Jamaica holds the record of having the most number of churches per square mile. The place has about 1600 churches in total.
- About the name West Indies:
You will often come across the name West Indies and you may be confused about it. Actually, the name West Indies is associated with the Caribbean. It hails back to the time when Christopher Columbus landed in the islands of the Caribbean. He took it to be the East Indies so he started calling the people present in the place as Indians. But he realized that he has actually sailed to somewhere else. So, now the Caribbean is called the West Indies. The name is popularly used for their cricket team which is world-renowned.
- Language:
The most ethnic groups that have been formed in the Caribbean are due to the slaves that colonizers brought. Their main aim was to farm tobacco and sugar cane. So, the people derived their own language or used the language that their owners have. The most prevalent languages are the English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Dutch,and Papiamento.
- Biodiversity:
A region like the Caribbean has to have a rich biodiversity in it. As most of the islands remain uninhabited, it becomes a thriving place for the animals and nature. Some of the facts are:
- The Parrotfish found in the Caribbean are important for keeping the beaches alive. They ingest the coral reefs and the sand is made through their excrement. These make the white sands that are famous in the Caribbean. They also feed on algae to keep the water crystal clear.
- More than 500 species of birds are found in the Caribbean. Among them, about 172 species are indigenous to the area.
- Iguanas have existed in the region for more than 12 million years. They are one of the largest land vertebrates that one can find in the Caribbean. They make the islands colorful by spreading seeds of many plants.
- The moruga scorpion chili is one of the hottest chilies in this world. It can be only found in Trinidad.
- James Bond:
Our beloved James Bond was actually created in Jamaica. The idea came to the author Ian Fleming while staying in Jamaica. He bought the house ‘GoldenEye’ which is now a luxury hotel. Even the shooting of the first Bond movie ‘Dr. No’ happened in Jamaica.
There is a lot more you can learn about the Caribbean. But this would be a good starting for someone who isn’t aware of the secularity of the country. So, take a tour of the area to see the beauty with your own eyes.
This article is submitted by Seema Gurnani, who’s a travel blogger and owns www.pandareviewz.com
