Mount Jamanota of 188 m (617 ft) is the highest point. Of all the five oceans, the Pacific is the largest. Previous Okeanos Explorer expeditions have come across unknown species, recorded known animals exhibiting never-before-seen behaviors and sighted live animals previously only observed as lifeless specimens, Kennedy said.Because of these characteristics, the area was identified by members of the ocean science community as important to explore, and data from the expedition will likely have long-lasting implications for scientists and resource managers in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was widespread during the early colonial era, especially between 1640 and 1680. It is observed that the lowland areas between Belize and Costa Rica experience a tropical rainforest climate, while the Yucatan Peninsula, Cuba, and Venezuela experience dry tropical savanna climates. The Random House atlas of the oceans. This ocean is relatively calm and offers significant sea routes for transporting materials such as oil, rice, sugar, and silk. During the Cretaceous the Caribbean acquired the shape close to that seen today. According to the National Hurricane Center 385 hurricanes occurred in the Caribbean between 1494 and 1900. Tropical storms reaching a hurricane velocity of more than 75 miles (120 km) per hour are seasonally common in the northern Caribbean as well as in the Gulf of Mexico; they are almost nonexistent in the far south. The habitats of almost all members of the toad family, poison dart frogs, treefrogs. The Gulf Stream is part of a general clockwise-rotating system of currents in the North Atlantic. [13] Among them stands out the Belize Barrier Reef, with an area of 963km2 (372sqmi), which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. Have a question? The Caribbean region has rich biodiversity containing many endemic species. mi, 3,862,000 sq. (2004). Covering an area of about 2,754,000 sq. There are more than 7,000 islands including 12 countries and 22 island territories in the Caribbean Sea. The Puerto Rico Trench, located just north of Puerto Rico, is the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean. In the Caribbean Sea there are around 1,000 documented species of fish, including sharks (bull shark, tiger shark, silky shark and Caribbean reef shark), flying fish, giant oceanic manta ray, angel fish, spotfin butterflyfish, parrotfish, Atlantic Goliath grouper, tarpon and moray eels. Deepest Point: Challenger Deep (36,070 feet). Average monthly air temperatures in winter vary from +23 in the north to +27 C on the southern coast of the sea. The very deepest depth of the ocean is roughly 2,000 meters deeper than Mount Everest is tall36,070 feet deep (10,994 m)! In brackish water of harbours and estuaries at depths less than 2.5m (8ft 2in) widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) grows. In the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size. The Caribbean has been well-traveled for 300 years, and this historic map by Herman Molls is surprisingly complete and accurate. The Colombian Basin is separated from the Venezuelan Basin by the Beata Ridge, while the Grenada Basin is separated from the Venezuelan Basin via the Aves Ridge. The Cayman Trough, located between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, is the sea's deepest point. Surface currents, bearing both high- and low-salinity water depending on the source, enter the Caribbean mainly through the channels and passages of the southern Antilles. Within the boundaries of the Caribbean itself, Jamaica, to the south of Cuba, is the largest of a number of islands. There are also some locations that are arid climates with considerable drought in some years. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Oceania in the west and the Americas in the east.. At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with a . The northeast trade winds dominate the region with an average velocity of 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km) per hour. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the northwest. https://www.britannica.com/place/Caribbean-Sea, Florida Museum - Indigenous communities used the Caribbean Sea as an aquatic highway, Caribbean Sea - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Caribbean Sea - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), A 5,000-mile seaweed belt is headed toward Florida. Rainfall varies with elevation, size, and water currents (cool upwelling keep the ABC islands arid). 460 41. Its deepest point is the Sunda Trench, descending to approximately 7,290 m. With an average temperature of 77F, the Indian Ocean takes the lead as the warmest ocean in the world. The islands of Curaao and Aruba experience arid climates. The sediment beds tend to arch in the middle of the basins and to dip as landmasses are approached. Right now, there is a debate over how many oceans exist. The Caribbean remained like this for most of the Cenozoic until the Holocene when rising water levels of the oceans restored communication with the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout history, the Arabian Sea served as an essential water body for numerous seaports and trade routes. 700 85. As the planets 4th largest ocean, the Southern Ocean has an average depth of 3,270 m. Its deepest point is the Factorian Deep which stretches to 7,434 m below sea level. It is estimated that 13,000 species of plants grow in the Caribbean of which 6,500 are endemic. The nation with the most Caribbean islands is the Bahamas, with approximately 700 islands. The average depth is about 4,280 m. The volume of the Pacific Ocean reaches up to some 714 million cubic kilometers. So far, at least 12,046 species have been reported in this sea. It is fed by the westward-flowing North Equatorial Current moving from North Africa to the West Indies. The green iguana is invasive to Grand Cayman. This arc was formed by the collision of the South American Plate with the Caribbean Plate and includes active and extinct volcanoes such as Mount Pelee, the Quill (volcano) on Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands and Morne Trois Pitons on Dominica. These sills are located below the Anegada Passage, which runs between the Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles, and the Windward Passage, which stretches between Cuba and Hispaniola. Connections were established with the Pacific Ocean during the Cretaceous Period (from about 145 to 66 million years ago) but were broken when the land bridges that permitted mammals to cross between North and South America were formed in the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (about 23 to 2.6 million years ago). 03 of 10 The South China Sea Taro Hama @ e-kamakura / Getty Images Area: 895,400 square miles (2,319,000 sq km) Average depth: 5,419 feet (1,652 m) Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. At least 9% of all coral reefs in the world are found in the Caribbean Sea. 000, 000 sq km 000, 000 sq mi 000, 000 cu km 000, 000 cu mi m ft. Atlantic Ocean. The most common deep Caribbean Sea animals are comb jellies, deep-sea dragonfish, and rattail fish. Victor Vescovo used his private submersible, the Limiting Factor, to reach the bottom of the trench safely. About 500 reptiles are found in the Caribbean including the blue iguana, rhinoceros iguana, Mona ground iguana, green turtle, loggerhead turtle, Atlantic ridley turtle, leatherback turtle, etc. [28] Their populations have been greatly reduced since the 17th century the number of green turtles has declined from 91million to 300,000 and hawksbill turtles from 11million to less than 30,000 by 2006.[29]. The Arctic Ocean basin is the worlds smallest, shallowest, and coldest ocean, making up 4.3% of global water. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km 2 (1,063,000 sq mi). Average depth: 8,685 feet (2,647 m) Ocean: Atlantic Ocean The Caribbean Sea averages eight hurricanes per year, with most happening in September; the season extends from June to November. The Caribbean region has seen a significant increase in human activity since the colonization period. Did you discover a fact in this list about the largest oceans and seas that surprised you? The maps show the seafloor in detail, making them useful for biologists, geologists, oceanographers and geophysicists. The preferred oceanographic term for the Caribbean is the Antillean-Caribbean Sea, which, together with the Gulf of Mexico, forms the Central American Sea. The project results were presented in Vienna in the forum "Water Matters", and the 2011 General Conference of said multilateral organization. Pernetta, John. While landfalls are infrequent, the resulting loss of life and property damage makes them a significant hazard to life in the Caribbean. The hydrology of the sea has a high level of homogeneity. Another type shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) grows on sand and mud surfaces at depths of up to 5m (16ft). While the Caribbean Sea may sound never-ending, there is a maximum depth. The yearly average is about eight such storms. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows:[5], Note that, although Barbados is an island on the same continental shelf, it is considered to be in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea.[6]. When tropical waters become unusually warm for extended periods of time, microscopic plants called zooxanthellae, which are symbiotic partners living within the coral polyp tissues, die off. The coral reef in Caribbean Sea is threatened due to the increased temperature of the sea because of global warming effect. As part of the Central American Sea, it is presumed to have been connected with the Mediterranean during Paleozoic times (i.e., about 541 to 252 million years ago) and then gradually to have separated from it as the Atlantic Ocean was formed. But how deep is the Caribbean Sea, and what mysterious creatures lurk there? In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the present area of the Gulf of Mexico creating a vast shallow pool. The habitats of almost all members of the toad family, poison dart frogs, tree frogs and leptodactylidae (a type of frog) are limited to only one island. The Caribbean Sea is subdivided into five basins that are separated from each other by submerged ranges and ridges. While the Southern. The Arabian Sea has an average depth of 2,734 m, with its deepest point in Wheatley Deep descending to about 5,800 m. The formation of this sea took place roughly 50 million years ago. The Pacific Ocean is the oldest of all existing oceans. You can find many types of corals in the Caribbean Sea, like the great star coral, mustard hill coral, and massive starlet coral. These submarine basins are the Colombian Basin, Cayman Basin, Grenada Basin, Venezuela Basin, and Yucatan Basin. 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