Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles (Spanish: Pequeñas Antillas; French: Petites Antilles; Papiamento: Antias Menor; Dutch: Kleine Antillen) is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most form a long, partly volcanic island arc between the Greater Antilles to the north-west and the continent of South America.[1] The islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles compose the Antilles (or the Caribbean in its narrowest definition). When combined with the Lucayan Archipelago, all three are known as the West Indies.

Region of the Caribbean
Location within the Caribbean
Coordinates: 14°14′N 61°21′W
RegionCaribbean
Island States
Area
 • Total14,364 km2 (5,546 sq mi)
Population
 (2009)
 • Total3,949,250
 • Density274.9/km2 (712/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Lesser Antillean
Time zoneUTC−4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−3 (ADT)

Geography

The islands of the Lesser Antilles are divided into three groups: the Windward Islands in the south, the Leeward Islands in the north, and the Leeward Antilles in the west.

The Windward Islands are so called because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward Islands.

The Leeward Antilles consist of the Dutch ABC islands just off the coast of Venezuela, plus a group of Venezuelan islands.

Geological formation

The Lesser Antilles more or less coincide with the outer cliff of the Caribbean Plate. Many of the islands were formed as a result of the subduction of oceanic crust of the Atlantic Plate under the Caribbean Plate in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. This process is ongoing and is responsible not only for many of the islands, but also for volcanic and earthquake activity in the region. The islands along the South American coast are largely the result of the interaction of the South American Plate and the Caribbean Plate which is mainly strike-slip, but includes a component of compression.

Geologically, the Lesser Antilles island arc stretches from Grenada in the south to Anguilla in the north. The Virgin Islands and Sombrero Island are geologically part of the Greater Antilles, while Trinidad is part of South America and Tobago is the remainder of a separate island arc. The Leeward Antilles are also a separate island arc, which is accreting to South America.

Political divisions

The Lesser Antilles are divided into eight independent nations and numerous dependent and non-sovereign states (which are politically associated with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and the United States). Over one third of the total area and population of the Lesser Antilles lies within Trinidad and Tobago, a sovereign nation comprising the two southernmost islands of the Windward Island chain.

Sovereign states
Name Subdivisions Area
(km²)		 Population
(1 July 2005 est.)		 Population density
(per km²)		 Capital
Antigua and Barbuda Parishes 440 85,632 195 St. John's
Barbuda 161 1,370 9.65 Codrington
Redonda 2 0 0 n/a
Barbados Parishes 431 284,589 660 Bridgetown
Dominica Parishes 754 72,660 96.3 Roseau
Grenada Parishes 344 110,000 319.8 St. George's
Saint Kitts and Nevis Parishes 261 42,696 163.5 Basseterre
Nevis 93 12,106 130.1 Charlestown
Saint Lucia Quarters 616 173,765 282 Castries
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Parishes 389 110,000 283 Kingstown
Trinidad and Tobago Regional corporations 5,131 1,299,953 253.3 Port of Spain
Tobago 300 54,000 180 Scarborough
Total 8,367 2,179,295 260.5

Non-sovereign states and territories
Name Sovereign State Subdivisions Area
(km²)		 Population
(1 July 2005 est.)		 Population density
(per km²)		 Capital
Aruba Netherlands Districts 193 103,065 534.0 Oranjestad
Anguilla UK Districts 91 13,600 149.4 The Valley
Bonaire Netherlands 288 14,006 48.6 Kralendijk
British Virgin Islands UK Districts 153 27,000 176.5 Road Town
Curaçao Netherlands Districts 444 180,592 406.7 Willemstad
Guadeloupe France Arrondissements 1,780 440,000 247.2 Basse-Terre
Martinique France Arrondissements 1,128 400,000 354.6 Fort-de-France
Montserrat UK Parishes 120 4,655 38.8 Brades
Saba Netherlands 13 1,424 109.5 The Bottom
Saint Barthélemy France Paroisses (parishes) 21 7,448 354.6 Gustavia
Saint-Martin France 53 35,000 660.4 Marigot
Sint Eustatius Netherlands 34 3,100 91.2 Oranjestad
Sint Maarten Netherlands 34 40,917 1,203.4 Philipsburg
United States Virgin Islands United States Districts 346 108,448 313.4 Charlotte Amalie
Nueva Esparta Venezuela Municipalities 1,150 491,610 427.5 La Asunción
Federal Dependencies of Venezuela Venezuela Federal dependencies 342 2,155 6.3 Gran Roque
Total 5,997 1,769,955 320.1

Several islands along the north coast of Venezuela and politically part of that country are also occasionally considered part of the Lesser Antilles. These are listed in the section below.

Islands

The main Lesser Antilles are (from north to south to west):

Leeward Islands

Windward Islands

Leeward Antilles
Map of the Leeward Antilles

Islands north of the Venezuelan coast (from west to east):

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See also

Notes
  1. "West Indies." Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed. 2001. (ISBN 0-87779-546-0) Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., p. 1298.
  2. "Windward Islands | islands, West Indies". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  3. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "The Scotland District of Barbados". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  4. "The Windward Islands and Barbados". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  5. Cohen, Saul B., ed. "West Indies" Archived 2006-08-16 at the Wayback Machine The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. Archived 2006-08-20 at the Wayback Machine New York: Columbia University Press – Bartleby. Accessed: 19 September 2006
  6. ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL CONSTITUTED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 287, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANNEX VII, OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION BETWEEN: BARBADOS - AND - THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Archived 2008-12-17 at the Wayback Machine - The Hague, 11 April 2006 (Pages 15-16)

References
  • Rogonzinski, Jan. A Brief History of the Caribbean. New York: Facts on File, 1992.

The dictionary definition of Lesser Antilles at Wiktionary

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