American Mediterranean Sea

The American Mediterranean, which is deep to 7.680 m and 4.354 million km ² area covered, is a western Mediterranean the Atlantic Ocean.

Geography

The American Mediterranean, consisting of the Caribbean Sea (south-eastern part) and the Gulf of Mexico ( northwestern part ), and belongs to the intra continental seas means, is "inside" of America in the Central American area between North and South America.

There borders ( and others) to the U.S., which hit the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, bordering on the Caribbean or within this lying states Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic Puerto Rico ( by the U.S. dependent), Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize, and the thrusting of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, Mexico; all these are the largest states in the area of the American Mediterranean.

At this large Mediterranean, which is counted to the oceanic marginal seas, including in addition to numerous small islands, large and small islands and islets, the large islands of Cuba, bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and within or at the edge of the Caribbean islands Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico; all these islands belong to the West Indies, which separate the American Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.

Between the islands is the American Mediterranean, among others through the Straits of Florida, the passage of the Winds (Paso de los Vientos; Windward Passage ), the Mona Passage (Canal de la Mona ), the Anegada Passage, the Guadeloupe Passage, the Dominica passage, the passage Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent - channel passage connected to the actual Atlantic. Within this Mediterranean the street from Yucatán connects the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean. About the manmade Panama Canal is a connection to the Pacific.

Data

The American Mediterranean Sea covered with its two part seas ( Caribbean Sea 2.754 million km ² Gulf of Mexico 1.6 million km ²) 4.354 million km ². Its deepest point is found in the Cayman trench.

Seabed

Within the American Mediterranean Sea or on its seabed are sleepers, deep-sea basins and a deepwater channel:

Among the deep-sea basins include the to 4,375 m deep Mexican basin, which is located in the central Gulf of Mexico, up to 5,649 m deep Caribbean Basin, which is the south-eastern part of the Caribbean, and to 4,901 m deep Yucatanbecken, located in the northwest of the Caribbean Sea. The deep-water channel is the to 7,680 m deep Cayman Trench, which is south of the Cayman Islands between the islands of Cuba to the north of Hispaniola in the east and Jamaica in the south and the Gulf of Honduras is located in the northwest of the Caribbean Sea to the southwest and is the deepest portion of the American Mediterranean.

Besides seas, gulfs and straits

Secondary or part seas, gulfs and / or large straits of the American Mediterranean Sea are:

  • Gulf of Mexico: Bahía de Campeche
  • Straits of Florida
  • Gulf of Batabanó
  • Gulf of Darién
  • Gulf of Gonâve
  • Gulf of Honduras
  • Gulf of Venezuela
  • Lake Maracaibo

Archipelagos and islands

The largest island groups and the largest islands in the Mediterranean are American (clockwise):

  • West Indies: Greater Antilles: Cuba et al with Isle of Youth - (Gulf of Mexico & Caribbean)
  • Jamaica - ( Caribbean)
  • Hispaniola - ( Caribbean)
  • Puerto Rico - ( Caribbean)
  • Leeward Islands - ( Caribbean)
  • Windward Islands - ( Caribbean)

States & Dependent Areas

The American Mediterranean delimiting or is lying states and dependent territories of other states are (clockwise):

  • United States - (Gulf of Mexico)
  • Bahamas - ( in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of adjacent Caribbean )
  • Cuba - (Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean)
  • Cayman Islands - (United Kingdom) - Caribbean
  • Jamaica - ( Caribbean)
  • Haiti - ( Caribbean)
  • Dominican Republic - ( Caribbean)
  • Puerto Rico - (USA) - Caribbean
  • U.S. Virgin Islands - (USA ) - ( Caribbean)
  • British Virgin Islands - ( Great Britain and Northern Ireland) - Caribbean
  • Anguilla - ( Great Britain and Northern Ireland) - Caribbean
  • St. Kitts and Nevis - ( Caribbean)
  • Antigua and Barbuda - ( Caribbean)
  • Montserrat - ( Great Britain and Northern Ireland) - Caribbean
  • Guadeloupe - (France) - Caribbean
  • Dominica - ( Caribbean)
  • Martinique - (France) - Caribbean
  • St. Lucia - ( Caribbean)
  • St. Vincent and the Grenadines - ( Caribbean)
  • Barbados - ( in the Atlantic east to adjacent Caribbean )
  • Grenada - ( Caribbean)
  • Turks and Caicos Islands ( Great Britain and Northern Ireland ) - ( in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Bahamas on Caribbean adjacent )
  • Venezuela - ( Caribbean)
  • Netherlands Antilles - (Netherlands ) - Caribbean
  • Aruba - (Netherlands ) - Caribbean
  • Colombia - ( Caribbean)
  • Panama - ( Caribbean)
  • Costa Rica - ( Caribbean)
  • Nicaragua - ( Caribbean)
  • Honduras - ( Caribbean)
  • Guatemala - ( Caribbean)
  • Belize - ( Caribbean)
  • Mexico - ( Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico )
Middle America (region) Mona-Passage Anegada-Passage Martinique-Passage Cayman Trough Lesser Antilles United States Virgin Islands Inland sea Integrated Authority File
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