Lesser Antilles

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—  Region of the Caribbean  —
Location within the Caribbean.
Region Caribbean
Island States
Area
 • Total 13,012 km2 (5,024 sq mi)
Population (2009)
 • Total 3,735,636
 • Density 287.09/km2 (743.6/sq mi)
Demonym Lesser Antillean
Time zone AST (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) ADT (UTC−4)

The Lesser Antilles (also known as the Caribbees) are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Caribbean Sea.[1] Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America. The Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles compose the Antilles, which are in turn part of the West Indies along with the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Contents

[edit] Regional terminology

Subgroups of the Lesser Antilles

The islands of the Lesser Antilles are divided into three groups. The two main groups are the Windward Islands in the south and the Leeward Islands in the north. The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward Islands.

The third group is the Leeward Antilles in the west. These consist of the Dutch ABC islands just off the coast of Venezuela, plus a group of Venezuelan islands.

[edit] Geology

The Lesser Antilles more or less coincide with the outer edge of the Caribbean Plate. Many of the islands were formed as a result of the subduction of oceanic crust of the North American Plate under the Caribbean Plate in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. This process is ongoing and is responsible not only for many of the islands, but also for volcanic and earthquake activity in the region. The islands along the South American coast are largely the result of the interaction of the South American Plate and the Caribbean Plate which is mainly strike-slip, but includes a component of compression.

[edit] Political divisions

The Lesser Antilles are divided into eight independent nations and numerous dependent and non-sovereign states (which are politically associated with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and the United States). Over one third of the total area and population of the Lesser Antilles lies within Trinidad and Tobago, a sovereign nation comprising the two southernmost islands of the Windward Island chain.

[edit] Sovereign states

Name Subdivisions Area
(km²)		 Population
(1 July 2005 est.)		 Population density
(per km²)		 Capital
 Antigua and Barbuda Parishes &10000000000000440000000440 &1000000000008563200000085,632 195 St. John's
Barbuda &10000000000000161000000161 &100000000000013700000001,370 9.65 Codrington
Redonda &100000000000000020000002 &100000000000000000000000 0 n/a
 Barbados Parishes &10000000000000431000000431 &10000000000284589000000284,589 660 Bridgetown
 Dominica Parishes &10000000000000754000000754 &1000000000007266000000072,660 96.3 Roseau
 Grenada Parishes &10000000000000344000000344 &10000000000110000000000110,000 319.8 St. George’s
 Saint Kitts and Nevis Parishes &10000000000000261000000261 &1000000000004269600000042,696 163.5 Basseterre
 Nevis &1000000000000009300000093 &1000000000001210600000012,106 130.1 Charlestown
 Saint Lucia Quarters &10000000000000616000000616 &10000000000173765000000173,765 282 Castries
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Parishes &10000000000000389000000389 &10000000000120000000000120,000 308.4 Kingstown
 Trinidad and Tobago Regional corporations &100000000000051310000005,131 &100000000012999530000001,299,953 253.3 Port of Spain
Tobago &10000000000000300000000300 &1000000000005400000000054,000 180 Scarborough

[edit] Non-sovereign territories

Name Subdivisions Area
(km²)		 Population
(1 July 2005 est.)		 Population density
(per km²)		 Capital
 Aruba (Netherlands) null &10000000000000193000000193 &10000000000103065000000103,065 534 Oranjestad
 Anguilla (UK) &1000000000000009100000091 &1000000000001360000000013,600 132 The Valley
 Bonaire (Netherlands) null &10000000000000288000000288 &1000000000001400600000014,006 246.3 Kralendijk
 British Virgin Islands (UK) Districts &10000000000000153000000153 &1000000000002700000000027,000 260 Road Town
 Curaçao (Netherlands) null &10000000000000444000000444 &10000000000180592000000180,592 406.7 Willemstad
 Guadeloupe (France) Arrondissements &100000000000017800000001,780 &10000000000440000000000440,000 249.1 Basse-Terre
 Martinique (France) Arrondissements &100000000000011280000001,128 &10000000000400000000000400,000 &10000000000000132000000132 Fort-de-France
 Montserrat (UK) &10000000000000120000000120 &100000000000046550000004,655 Brades
 Saba (Netherlands) null &1000000000000001300000013 &100000000000014240000001,424 109.5 The Bottom
 Saint Barthélemy (France) null &1000000000000002100000021 &100000000000074480000007,448 354.6 Gustavia
 Saint Martin (France) null &1000000000000005300000053 &1000000000003500000000035,000 675 Marigot
 Sint Eustatius (Netherlands) null &1000000000000003400000034 &100000000000031000000003,100 147.6 Oranjestad
 Sint Maarten (Netherlands) null &1000000000000003400000034 &1000000000004091700000040,917 1,704 Philipsburg
 United States Virgin Islands (US) Districts &10000000000000346000000346 &10000000000108448000000108,448 313.1 Charlotte Amalie

Several islands along the north coast of Venezuela and politically part of that country are also occasionally considered part of the Lesser Antilles. These are listed in the section immediately below.

[edit] Islands

Massive Hurricane Ike of 2008 off of Lesser Antilles.

The main Lesser Antilles are (from north to south to west):

Leeward Islands:

Windward Islands:

Leeward Antilles – islands north of the Venezuelan coast (from west to east):

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "West Indies." Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed. 2001. (ISBN 0-87779-546-0) Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., p. 1298.
  2. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: The Windward Islands
  3. ^ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) | The Scotland District of Barbados
  4. ^ CountryStudies.us | The Windward Islands and Barbados
  5. ^ Cohen, Saul B., ed. "West Indies" The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. New York: Columbia University Press – Bartleby. Accessed: 19 September 2006
  6. ^ ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL CONSTITUTED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 287, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANNEX VII, OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION BETWEEN: BARBADOS - AND - THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - The Hague, 11 April 2006 (Pages 15-16)
  • Rogonzinski, Jan. A Brief History of the Caribbean. New York: Facts on File, 1992.

Coordinates: 14°14′N 61°21′W / 14.233°N 61.35°W / 14.233; -61.35

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