Explore the West Indies' varying landscapes and wildlife, from dolphins to red-footed boobies

Explore the West Indies' varying landscapes and wildlife, from dolphins to red-footed boobies

Overview of the Caribbean.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Transcript

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NARRATOR: The Caribbean region comprises literally thousands of islands, strewn in a graceful arc from the tip of Florida to the northern coast of South America, a region that includes more than a dozen separate nations.

Stretching over a distance of more than two thousand miles, the islands of the Caribbean include within them many different worlds.

Some of the islands are lush and green with forests and waterfalls, just like the pictures in a postcard or a travel poster.

These islands have mountains that catch the rain, covering the land with deep green forests that stay verdant throughout the year.

Other islands receive very little rain, and their vegetation is dry, like that of the desert.

Yet, wet or dry, all of these islands are filled with life.

Many seabirds nest on the islands, like these magnificent frigate birds, rearing their young in the mangroves, and these red-footed boobies.

Truly, the Caribbean is blessed with natural wonders in its lands and in its waters.

Dolphins thrive in the warm, blue sea along with a wealth of marine life as rich in variety and abundance as that of any region on earth.

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