It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba to Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles to the east from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago, South America to the south from the Venezuelan coastline to the Colombian coastline, and Central America and the Yucatán Peninsula to the west from Panama to Mexico.

The name Caribbean derives from the Caribs, one of the region's dominant native people at the time of European contact during the late-15th century.

After Columbus's discovery of the islands, the area was quickly colonized by several Western cultures (initially Spain, then later England, the Dutch Republic, France, Courland and Denmark).

It included active and extinct volcanoes such as Mount Pelee, the Quill on Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands, La Soufrière in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Morne Trois Pitons on Dominica.

Powerful rifting led to the formation of narrow troughs, stretching from modern Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico's west coast, forming siliciclastic sedimentary rocks.

In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the current area of the Gulf of Mexico, creating a vast shallow pool.

The emergence of the basins marked the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean and contributed to the destruction of Pangaea at the end of the late Jurassic.

In the early Paleogene, due to marine regression, the Caribbean became separated from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean by the lands of Cuba and Haiti.

The deepest points of the sea lie in Cayman Trough, with depths reaching approximately 7,686 m (25,220 ft).

Underwater earthquakes pose a threat of generating tsunamis, which could have devastating effects on the Caribbean islands.

On the western side of the sea, the trade winds influence a northerly current, which causes an upwelling and a rich fishery near Yucatán.

[14] Among them, the Belize Barrier Reef stands out, 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 more than 1,000 km (600 mi) in length, is the world's second longest.

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.

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.

[16] The habitats supported by the reefs are critical to such tourist activities as fishing and scuba diving, and they provide an annual economic value to Caribbean nations of US$3.1–4.6 billion.

[19] In connection with the foregoing, the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico conducted a regional study funded by the Department of Technical Cooperation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which specialists from 11 Latin American countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela) plus Jamaica participated.

The study's findings indicate that heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead have been identified in the coastal zone of the Caribbean Sea.

Analysis of toxic metals and hydrocarbons is based on investigation of coastal sediments that have accumulated less than 50 meters deep during the past 150 years.

Project results were presented in Vienna at the forum "Water Matters", and the 2011 General Conference of that multilateral organization.

Pollution in the form of up to 300,000 tonnes of solid garbage dumped into the Caribbean Sea each year is progressively endangering marine ecosystems, wiping out species, and harming the livelihoods of local people, who rely primarily on tourism and fishing.

Rainfall varies with elevation, size, and water currents (cool upwelling keep the ABC islands arid).

Warm, moist trade winds blow consistently from the east, creating both rainforest and semi-arid climates across the region.

The tropical rainforest climates include lowland areas near the Caribbean Sea from Costa Rica north to Belize, as well as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, while the more seasonal dry tropical savanna climates are found in Cuba, northern Venezuela, and southern Yucatán, Mexico.

The vegetation of the region is mostly tropical but differences in topography, soil and climatic conditions increase species diversity.

Another type shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) grows on sand and mud surfaces at depths of up to 5 m (16 ft).

In brackish water of harbours and estuaries at depths less than 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) grows.

[27] 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.

The sea is one of the largest oil production areas in the world, producing approximately 170 million tons[clarification needed] per year.

Tourism based upon scuba diving and snorkeling on coral reefs of many Caribbean islands makes a major contribution to their economies.