[[Image:Location_Caribbean.png|thumb|365px|World map depicting Caribbean:
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[[Image:Tectonic plates Caribbean.png|thumb|200px|Detail of tectonic plates from:

The Caribbean (Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the area comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. The West Indies consist of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas. Bermuda lies much further to the north in the Atlantic Ocean and is in the West Indies. Geopolitically, the West Indies are usually reckoned as a subregion of North America and are organised into 28 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. At one time, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories.

Caribbean vs. West Indies

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The name "Caribbean" is named after the Caribs, one of the dominant Amerindian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century.

The analogous "West Indies" originates from Christopher Columbus' idea that he had landed in the Indies (then meaning all of south and east Asia) when he had actually reached the Americas.

The Spanish term Antillas was commonly assigned to the newly discovered lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" is a common alternate name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages.

In the English-speaking Caribbean, someone from the Caribbean is usually referred to as a "West Indian", although the rather cumbersome phrase "Caribbean person" is sometimes used. The use of the words "Caribbean" and "Caribbeans" to refer to a West Indian or West Indians is largely known in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Some Spanish-speaking Caribbean residents do not like to be called Hispanics or Latins due to the significant differences with South and Central American countries. Spanish-speaking Caribbean people differ significantly from mainland Latin Americans in many aspects of ethnicity, history, dialects of Spanish spoken, culture, and traditions.

Geography and climate

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The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies from one place to another. Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. Such islands include Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands or Anguilla. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Trinidad.

The climate of the region mainly ranges between sub-tropical to tropical and depends a great deal upon location in proximity to the tradewinds from the Atlantic. The Tradewinds blow towards the Eastern Caribbean islands heading northwest up the chain of Windward islands.

When the tradewinds arrive close to the island of Cuba they tend to be overcome by other minor jet streams across...