Fact Sheet: Greater Antilles marine ecoregion
Posted on March, 25 2003
Geographic location: North-western Antillean islands including Bahamas, Cayman Islands (UK), Cuba, Dominican Republic, Florida Keys (USA), Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico (USA), Turks and Caicos Islands (UK).
The Caribbean coastal shelf in the Greater Antilles ecoregion spans 70 million km2, covering three extensive island chains. These archipelagoes are made up of cays and small islands, extensive mangrove stands, shallow sea grass beds and coral reefs. Among these, the Florida Keys are home to the world's third-largest coral barrier reef. Nearby in the western Bahamas, Andros Barrier Reef is considered one of the finest in the Caribbean, while further east, an area of submerged and uplifted marine terraces has been designated as a World Heritage Site. This ecoregion also contains Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas.