Caribbean Sea, lying between the Antilles and the South and Central American mainland, and communicating with the Gulf of Mexico by the Yucatan Channel, 120 miles wide. During the rainy season (July to October) hurricanes are not infrequent. A shallow bank extending from Honduras to Jamaica separates the two great depressions of the sea, of which the eastern and larger has a depth of 20,577, and the western 20,541 feet; and these are united by the strait (over 3300 feet) between Jamaica and Cuba and Hayti. The sea forms the turning-point of the Gulf Stream (q.v.).
Caribbean Sea
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 2: Beaugency to Cataract, p. 766
Source scan(s): p. 0783