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Anguilla Cities with Hotels
West Indies, archipelago in the northern
part of the western hemisphere, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic
Ocean. Visited and called the Indies by Christopher Columbus, it was
subsequently designated the West Indies to distinguish it from the East Indies
archipelago.
The West Indies comprises three main island chains that
extend in a roughly crescent shape from the eastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula
in Mexico and southeastern Florida in the United States to the Venezuelan coast
of South America.
Some of the hotels, motels and resorts available for
booking in our reservation network include, Ramada Inn, Marriott Hotels, Super 8
Motels, Econo Lodge, Holiday Inn & Holiday Inn Express, Travelodge, Hampton Inn,
Sheraton, Hilton, Best Western, Hyatt and Hyatt Regency, Wyndham Inn, Ritz and
Ritz Carlton, Days Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, La Quinta Inns, Comfort Inn and
Comfort Suite, Embassy Suites, Quality Inn, Radisson Inn, Sleep Inn, Numerous
Resorts and Resort Villas throughout the globe, along with Plaza and Plaza
Suites and and array of private and Golf Clubs and Golf Resorts.
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Anguilla
The Bahama Islands, in the north, form a southeasterly
line. The Greater Antilles, comprising the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica,
and Puerto Rico, lie in the center. To the southeast, arching southward from
Puerto Rico and then westward along the Venezuelan coast, are the Lesser
Antilles, comprising the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. Barbados,
Trinidad, Tobago, and the Netherlands Antilles are often considered part of this
third chain (see Antilles). The land area of the West Indies totals about
235,700 sq km (about 91,000 sq mi), and the total population (1990 estimate) was
about 34 million.
Most of the noncoral islands of the West Indies are
mountainous, projecting remnants of submerged ranges related to Central and
South American mountain systems. Elevations of about 2130 to 2440 m (about 7000
to 8000 ft) are common in the Greater Antilles; the highest point (3175 m/10,417
ft) is Pico Duarte in La Lomaza Mountains of the Dominican Republic. The inner
chain of the Lesser Antilles, part of a submerged volcanic ridge, consists
mainly of volcanic cones, a number of which are still active. The outer chain is
composed largely of coral and uplifted limestone.
Elevations in the Lesser Antilles rarely exceed 1524 m (5000
ft). The southernmost part of the archipelago, from Trinidad to Aruba, is
geologically related to South American rock and mountain formations. The Bahamas
and northern central Cuba, relatively flat limestone and coral formations, are
geologically related to formations in Florida and the Yucatán Peninsula. Several
deep ocean trenches lie close offshore and parallel to the islands of the
Greater and Lesser Antilles, marking unstable crustal zones in which earthquakes
may occur.
"West Indies," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Anguilla • Antigua/Barbuda • Aruba • Bahamas • Barbados • Bermuda • British West Indies • British Virgin Isles • Cayman Islands • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Grenada • Guadeloupe • Haiti • Jamaica • Martinique • Puerto Rico • St Kitts & Nevis • St Lucia • St Vincent/Grenadines • Turks/Caicos Isles • Trinidad & Tobago • US Virgin Islands
Last Revised:
May 18, 2007 10:05 PM, |