Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
The Caribbean Sea is a suboceanic basin of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere.
See the fact file below for more information on the Caribbean Sea or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Caribbean Sea worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
INTRODUCTION
- The Caribbean Sea is bordered by the coasts of Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama to the south; by the coasts of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico to the west; by the Greater Antilles islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico to the north; and by the north-south chain of the Lesser Antilles to the east.
- The Caribbean Sea, like the Mediterranean Sea, is located between two continental land masses.
- The Caribbean Sea is considered to be one of the largest seas.
- The deepest point of the Caribbean Sea is the Cayman Trough, which is located between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.
GEOLOGY
- The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea, and most parts of it are located on the Caribbean Plate.
- The floor of the Caribbean Sea is composed of sub-oceanic sediments of deep red clay in the deep basins and troughs.
- On the other hand, calcareous silts can be found on continental slopes and ridges.
- The floor of the Caribbean Sea is divided into five (5) basins that are separated from each other by mountain ranges and underwater ridges.
- These five (5) basins are the Yucatán, Cayman, Colombian, Venezuelan, and Grenada basins.
- The northernmost basin is the Yucatán Basin, which is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the Yucatán Channel.
- The Cayman Basin, or Cayman Trough, is the location where the deepest point of the sea lies.
- The Colombian Basin is separated from the Venezuelan Basin by the Beata Ridge.
- On the other hand, the Venezuelan Basin is separated from the Grenada Basin by the Aves Ridge.
- The Caribbean Sea floor is also home to two (2) oceanic trenches: (1) the Cayman Trench and (2) the Puerto Rico Trench.
HYDROLOGY
- The Caribbean Sea’s hydrology has a high level of homogeneity.
- North Atlantic Deep Water enters the Caribbean Sea through the Windward Passage, which is characterized by its rich oxygen content and by its salinity.
- From the Windward Pasage, the North Atlantic Deep Water divides in order to fill the Yucatán, Cayman, and Colombian basins.
- The Caribbean Sea’s bottom water then enters the Venezuelan Basin.
CLIMATE
- The climate of the Caribbean is generally tropical. This is due to the low latitudes and tropical ocean currents that run through it.
- The Caribbean experiences fewer hurricanes as compared to the western Pacific or the Gulf of Mexico.
BIODIVERSITY
- The marine biodiversity in the Caribbean has been proven to include species that can also be found in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
- There are many undocumented species of fish in the Caribbean, including the bull shark, tiger shark, silky shark, Caribbean reef shark, flying fish, giant oceanic manta ray, angel fish, spotfin butterflyfish, parrotfish, tarpon, and moray eel.
- There are also around 90 species of mammals, including sperm whales, humpback whales, and dolphins.
- The Caribbean monk seal is considered to be extinct.
- Islands around the Caribbean Sea have around 500 species of reptiles, including rock iguana, American crocodile, blue iguana, green iguana, rhinoceros iguana, loggerhead, hawksbill, Atlantic ridley, and olive ridley.
- There are about 170 species of amphibians around the region of the Caribbean Sea, including the poison dart frog, tree frog, leptodactylidae, and Golden coqui.
- There are also around 600 species of birds recorded, including palmchats, green herons, yellow-breasted crakes, frigatebirds, and tropicbirds.
ECONOMY
- The Caribbean Sea is considered to be one of the largest oil production areas in the world.
- The Caribbean Sea is also considered to be home to a large fishing industry.
- Tourism is also a big industry of the areas around the Caribbean Sea.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- The deepest part of the Caribbean Sea, the Cayman Trench, has an average depth of 2,200 meters, with the deepest point being 7,500 meters below the surface.
- Nations bordering the Caribbean Sea include Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Suriname, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, St. Lucia, Columbia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Nicaragua, Dominica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the United States, Honduras, Grenada, Haiti, Guatemala, and Guyana.
- The average temperature in the Caribbean Sea is around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
- There are many gulfs and bays that can be found along the Caribbean Sea’s shore, including the Gulf of Venezuela, the Gulf of Gonave, the Golfo de los Mosquitos, the Gulf of Darien, the Gulf of Paria, and the Gulf of Honduras.
- The Caribbean nation with the most number of islands is the Bahamas.
- The largest island of the Caribbean Sea is Cuba.
Caribbean Sea Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Caribbean Sea across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Caribbean Sea worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Caribbean Sea which is a suboceanic basin of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Caribbean Sea Facts
- Facts
- Name Them
- Travel In Water
- The Monk
- Know Cuba
- Terms
- Thirteen
- A Letter
- Where To?
- Movie Review
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as Caribbean Sea Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 24, 2020
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.