The average depth is 8695 feet. Many famous works of literature by celebrated authors, and several feature films have focused on the Caribbean Sea and its islands, including Pirates of the Caribbean, and works by authors such as Earnest Hemmingway. The result of the death and dispersal of these tiny plants is called coral bleaching, and can lead to the devastation of large areas of reef. The next stage of the Caribbean Sea's formation began in the Triassic. Pernetta, John. Some of them are Gulf of Venezuela, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Honduras etc. 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. It runs 1,000 km (620 mi) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.[3]. The average depth, dis- ... of the Caribbean Sea (Ferreira et al. Within the Caribbean Sea's waters are over 7,000 islands. 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. 2008). From 1901 through 2015, temperature rose at an average rate of 0.13°F per decade (see Figure 1). There are many bays and gulfs along the sea’s coastline. For comparison, the Sea of Marmara—an inland sea located entirely in Turkey—is one of the smallest at 11,350 square kilometers. Salinity also varies from enclosed seas through partially closed seas to open seas. Silverstein, Alvin (1998) Weather And Climate (Science Concepts); page 17. Warm, moist trade winds blow consistently from the east, creating both rain forest and semi arid climates across the region. Sea surface temperature has been consistently higher during the past three decades than at any other time since reliable observations began in 1880 (see Figure 1). The mahogany is the national tree of the Dominican Republic and Belize. Taro Hama @ e-kamakura / Getty Images • Area: 895,400 square miles (2,319,000 sq km) • Average depth: 5,419 feet (1,652 m) • Ocean: Pacific Ocean. A 30-year climate analysis reveals an increase in sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the surrounding region. The maximum depth is 700 meters (2,300 feet) and average depth is 95 meters (312 feet) below the sea’s surface. The Caribbean's depth in its wider basins and deep water temperatures are similar to those of the Atlantic. In brackish water of harbours and estuaries at depths less than 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) grows. The porous limestone terraces of the islands are generally nutrient-poor. [23] 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. unusually warm Caribbean waters have been increasingly threatening Caribbean coral reefs. Annual variations in monthly average water temperatures at the surface do not exceed 3 °C (5.4 °F). The caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) grows throughout the Caribbean. Its deepest point, the Cayman Trough, measures 7,686 meters (25,220 feet) below sea level. The maximum depth is 700 meters (2,300 feet) and average depth is 95 meters (312 feet) below the sea’s surface. Due to the effects of global warming, the Caribbean Sea's coral reef is threatened. Coral reefs support some of the most diverse marine habitats in the world, but they are fragile ecosystems. Most seas are much shallower. There are five different oceans, the Pacific Ocean being the largest with a depth of around 10,924 meters, and the Arctic Ocean is the smallest with a depth of 5,625 meters. Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf experiences very small tidal ranges. The Atlantic Ocean is important to the world's weather (as are all oceans) because strong Atlantic hurricanes often develop off the coast of Cape Verde, Africa and move toward the Caribbean Sea from August to November. 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. The data depicted shows average salinity from May 27 to June 2, 2012, in a range from 30 to 40 grams per kilogram, with 35 grams being the average. The five oceans join together to form one large body of saline water commonly known as the world ocean, which has an average depth of 3,688 meters. Atlantic Ocean water enters the Caribbean through the Anegada Passage lying between the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands and the Windward Passage located between Cuba and Haiti. Sea Surface Temperatures on the Rise in the Caribbean . Africa Asia Aus & Pacific Europe Latin America N America S America Mid East. ETOPO1 1 Arc-Minute Global Relief Model: Procedures, Data Sources and Analysis. During the Cretaceous the Caribbean acquired the shape close to that seen today. The following table lists the world's oceans and seas, according to area and average depth, including the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Bering Sea, and more. In the Caribbean, 600 species of birds have been recorded, of which 163 are endemic such as todies, Fernandina's flicker and palmchat. The South China Sea . The Caribbean Sea is located in the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by Central America and Mexico, the Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles, and South America's north coast. From the 16th century, Europeans visiting the Caribbean region identified the "South Sea" (the Pacific Ocean, to the south of the isthmus of Panama) as opposed to the "North Sea" (the Caribbean Sea, to the north of the same isthmus).[4]. 3. depth induced refraction and shoaling in shallow water. Throughout the Caribbean there is industrial catching of lobster and sardines (off the coast of Yucatán Peninsula). The average depth is about 2,200 meters (7,220 feet) below the sea’s surface. New York : Random House. The Caribbean Sea has the world's second largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The 25 Best All-Inclusive Resorts to Visit in 2021. It is estimated that 14% of the coral reefs in the world are located in the Caribbean Sea. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela. Marine biota in the region have representatives of both the Indian and Pacific oceans which were caught in the Caribbean before the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama four million years ago. With a few exceptions, the Caribbean Sea is more than 6,000 feet deep with many sections exceeding 12,000 feet in depth. It has an average depth of 7,220 feet or 2,200 meters. The 50 Best Restaurants in the Caribbean – 2021. URL accessed on 28/07/2007. The hydrology of the sea has a high level of homogeneity. 43°32.9999 N: 7°05.9999 E: 43°32'59.99" N: 7°5'59.99" E: i [29], Human activity in the area also accounts for a significant amount of pollution, The Pan American Health Organization estimated in 1993 that only about 10% of the sewage from the Central American and Caribbean Island countries is properly treated before being released into the sea. That makes this point one of the lowest points on the surface of the Earth, and the Caribbean Sea is the deepest sea (excluding oceans) in the world. 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. There was a very serious eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902 which caused many casualties. All 170 species of amphibians that live in the region are endemic. The deepest part of the Caribbean Sea is the Cayman Trench, located between Jamaica and Cuba. The Sea of Japan covers an area of 378,000 square miles and is carrot-shaped, with its widest point being 660 miles and its length extends 1,401 miles. These plants provide food for the corals, and give them their color. Following the colonization of the Caribbean islands, the Caribbean Sea became a busy area for European-based marine trading and transports, and this commerce eventually attracted pirates such as Samuel Bellamy and Blackbeard. It forms part of the Great Mayan Reef also known as the MBRS and being over 1,000 km (600 mi) in length is the world's second longest. Some of these include flying fish, moray eels, bull sharks, tiger sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, giant oceanic manta rays, and parrotfish, among many others. It is estimated that the Caribbean Sea is between 160 and 180 million years old. Continued destruction of the reefs could severely damage the region's economy. It is believed to have formed when a horizontal fracture occurred and split Pangea during the Mesozoic Era. A sea area of salt water of an ocean, or a large, usually salt water, closed lake (for example, the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea). Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, Inc. p. 178. 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