Location of the Lesser Antilles (green) in relation to the rest of the Caribbean

Islands of the Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees,^[1] are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas and Greater Antilles form the West Indies. The islands are part of a long volcanic island arc, most of which wrap around the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea on the western boundary with the Atlantic Ocean, and some of which lie on the southern fringe of the sea just north of South America. The Lesser Antilles more or less coincide with the outer edge of the Caribbean Plate, and many of the islands were formed by subduction, as one or more other plates slipped under the Caribbean Plate.

Regional terminology

The two main groups of the Lesser Antilles are the Windward Islands in the south and the Leeward Islands in the north. The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds blow northeast to southwest. 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. Another group of the Lesser Antilles, is the Leeward Antilles which are found just north of Venezuela. The Netherlands Antilles are divided into two groups, one in the southwest (Leeward Antilles) off the coast of Venezuela and one in northeast (Leeward Islands), although it uses different naming conventions locally, with the southwest grouping being known as the Leeward Islands and northeast group being known as the Windward Islands.

Islands

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

Leeward Islands:

• U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix
• British Virgin Islands: Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke
• Anguilla (UK)
• Saint Martin/Sint Maarten (France/Neth. Antilles)
• Saint-Barthélemy (Fr.)
• Saba (Neth.)
• Sint Eustatius (Neth.)
• Saint Kitts
• Nevis
• Barbuda
• Antigua
• Redonda
• Montserrat (UK)
• Guadeloupe (Fr.)
• La Désirade (Fr.)
• Les Saintes (Fr.)
• Marie-Galante (Fr.)

Windward Islands:

• Dominica
• Martinique (Fr.)
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent
• Barbados
• Grenadines
• Grenada

Trinidad and Tobago (sometimes erroneously considered part of the windward islands)^[1][2]

Leeward Antilles ? islands north of the Venezuelan coast (from west to east):

• Aruba (Neth.)
• Curaçao (Neth.)
• Bonaire (Neth.)
• Margarita Island (Ven)
• Coche (Ven)
• Cubagua (Ven)
• Venezuelan Archipelago

References

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

ar:??? ??????? ?????? bs:Mali Antili bg:????? ?????? cs:Malé Antily da:Små Antiller de:Kleine Antillen et:Väikesed Antillid es:Antillas Menores eo:Malgrandaj Antiloj fr:Petites Antilles fy:Lytse Antillen gd:Lesser Antilles gl:Antillas Menores hr:Mali Antili id:Kepulauan Antilles Kecil is:Litlu-Antillaeyjar it:Piccole Antille he:???????? ?????? sw:Antili Ndogo ku:Antîlên Biçûk lt:Ma?ieji Antilai mk:???? ?????? nl:Kleine Antillen ja:???????? pl:Ma?e Antyle pt:Pequenas Antilhas ru:????? ?????????? ??????? simple:Lesser Antilles sk:Malé Antily sl:Mali Antili sr:???? ?????? fi:Pienet Antillit sv:Små Antillerna ta:????? ????????? tr:Küçük Antiller zh:???????