Source: Wikipedia

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the northern coast of South America. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the northwest. The entire Caribbean Sea area, the numerous islands of the West Indies, and adjacent mainland coastal regions are collectively known as the Caribbean.

The map below depicts the major geographical features frequently heard in weather forecasts, especially when discussing the path of Atlantic hurricanes. In particular, this page will discuss the terms Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands.

Greater Antilles

The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola (shared by Haiti and the Dominican republic), Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Navassa Island, and the Cayman Islands. The island of Cuba is the largest island in the Greater Antilles.

Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. They are distinguished from the large islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc which begins east of Puerto Rico and swings south through the Leeward and Windward Islands almost to South America and then turns west along the Venezuelan coast as far as Aruba. Barbados is isolated about 100 miles east of the Windwards.

Windward Islands

The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles. Part of the West Indies, they lie south of the Leeward Islands, approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W. Major islands are Carriacou, Dominica, Grenada, Martinique, Petite Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent.

Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In English, the term Leeward Islands refers to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The more southerly part of this chain, starting with Dominica, is called the Windward Islands. Major islands are Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin and the Virgin Islands.

The name of this island group, Leeward Islands, dates from previous centuries, when sailing ships were the sole form of transportation across the Atlantic Ocean. In sailing terminology, "windward" means towards the source of the wind (upwind), while "leeward" is the opposite direction (downwind). In the West Indies, the prevailing winds, known as the trade winds, blow predominantly out of the northeast. Therefore, a sailing vessel departing from the British Gold Coast and the Gulf of Guinea, driven by the trade winds, would normally first encounter Dominica and Martinique, islands most to windward, in their west-northwesterly heading to the final destinations in the Caribbean, Central America, and Northern America. This location, Dominica and Martinique, becomes the rough dividing line between the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands.

Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles. While the British Virgin Islands are officially designated as "The Virgin Islands", the name is most often used to refer to the entire international grouping of the British and United States Virgin Islands together with the Spanish Virgin Islands, which, contrary to their name are in fact officially part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, itself an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Lucayan Archipelago

The Lucayan Archipelago, also known as the Bahamian Archipelago, is an island group comprising the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Though part of the West Indies, the Lucayan Archipelago is not located on the Caribbean Sea.

West Indies

The Lesser and Greater Antilles, together with the Lucayan Archipelago, are collectively known as the West Indies.