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Which five submarine basins divide the floor of the Caribbean Sea?
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The floor of the Caribbean Sea is divided into five distinct, roughly elliptical submarine basins, which are separated by various submerged ridges and rises.1
These five basins are:
- Yucatán Basin: The northernmost basin, separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the Yucatán Channel.1
- Cayman Basin: Located to the south of the Yucatán Basin, it is partially separated from it by the Cayman Ridge.1
- Colombian Basin: Separated from the Cayman Basin by the Nicaraguan Rise, which bears the island of Jamaica.1
- Venezuelan Basin: Partly separated from the Colombian Basin by the Beata Ridge.1
- Grenada Basin: A small basin separated from the Venezuelan Basin by the Aves Ridge.1