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ABOUT THE LESSER ANTILLES

The Lesser Antilles

It is an archipelago located to the east and southeast of the Caribbean Sea and composed of the islands of the southern part of the Caribbean arc from Puerto Rico and the Anegada pit in the northwest to the sub - South American continent . The Lesser Antilles are generally defined as opposed to the Greater Antilles . The highest peak is the Soufriere (1467 meters) which is located in Guadeloupe . The deepest oceanic trench in the Atlantic (9,210 meters) is located on the northern edge of the US Virgin Islands . There is a sudden rise in the seabed, which has the effect of generating a sometimes disorderly sea (source Wikipedia).

Puerto Rico trench. We see the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles.
Montserrat volcano

Volcanism

Active volcanism can be observed on certain islands in the form of hot water or the release of sulfurous gases such as Saba , Saint-Eustache , Dominica , Nevis , Martinique , etc. From time to time, one of the volcanoes erupts. The type of volcanoes in the Antilles is said to be Pelean, that is to say explosive, which can produce fiery clouds capable of devastating everything in its path. In 1995 the volcano on Montserrat Island woke up completely destroying the city of Plymouth and its airport. Half of the population had to be evacuated. Skipper Jules offers to visit the volcanic islands by catamaran and explore in detail the volcanoes and craters.

Ethnology

The population is of black African origin, more or less mixed, of Europeans and Caribbean Indians , large communities originating in India and Pakistan , Lebanon , China. In general, the inhabitants claim to be of a “ Creole ” inter-island cultural community, but each remains very marked by its colonial culture of origin. Because of the history of colonization , the languages ​​spoken in these islands are: English , French , Dutch , Spanish and several Creoles based on these languages ​​which have developed locally.

 

Weather

The warm tropical climate is pleasantly softened by the trade winds that blow from the east and are fairly constant throughout the year to the delight of sailors. Inland, the climate is a little warmer but cools with altitude, as does the increasing humidity. There are two types of seasons:

The dry and cool season (December to June). The wet and hot season (June to December) known as the cyclonic period .

The Trade Winds. Credit Initiatives-coeur

The climate is ideal for sailing all year round. The wind is strong from December to April and weakens somewhat during the cyclonic period. The heat increases sharply and the sea becomes flat accompanied by exceptional visibility. Strong rainy squalls can then burst to cool temperatures. The infographic above explains the creation of the trade winds blowing from the east and which make north-south navigation easy and pleasant (Credit Initiatives-Coeur.fr). The climate of the Lesser Antilles is warm all year round and life is very pleasant.

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