Greater Antilles marine ecoregion

Abstract

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 seagrass 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. This factsheet is part of the WWF International Corals Initiative.