Crossword Dictionary

The Caribbean Sea is an American mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and south west, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the north coast of South America.

The name "Caribbean" derives from the Caribs, one of the region's dominant Native American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. After Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, the Spanish term Antillas applied to the lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" became a common alternative name for "Caribbean Sea" in various European languages. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region remained undisputed.

The Caribbean is home to about 9% of the world's coral reefs covering about 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), most of which are located off the Caribbean Islands and the Central American coast. Among them stands out the Belize Barrier Reef with an area of 963 km2 (372 sq mi) which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. 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. It runs along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.