Where are the West Indies
The West Indies, also known as the Caribbean, is a group of about 3,000 islands. The name West Indies was given to the region by Christopher Columbus when he landed there in 1492. It is thought the he mistook the region for the area to the west of India. There are many different countries (13) and territories (17) that make up the region and the most common languages are Spanish, English, French and Dutch. The region covers about 2.75 million km2 (1.06 sq mi), but only 239,681 km2 (92,541 sq mi) of that is land. Approximately 36 million people live in this region of the world. If you have ever wanted to know where the West Indies are, continue reading to find out.
Where are the West Indies?
The West Indies are located in the Caribbean Sea, which is located southeast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, east of Mexico and to the north of South America. It is considered to be a subregion of North America. The following map shows most of the main islands and countries/territories from the region.
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Did you know?
Players from 15 countries/territories of the West Indies combine to form an international cricket team. They were one of the most dominant teams in world cricket through much of the 1970’s and 80’s.
The countries of the Caribbean have a tropical climate, which makes many of them popular tourist destinations.
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