CHAPTER III 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE WEST INDIAN ISLANDS 



Their number, area, and populations. Antithetic nature of their origin, 

 configuration, and resources. Classification into groups of similar 

 type. The Great Antilles. The Bahamas. The Caribbean chain. 

 The South American islands of the Trinidad type. Reefs and keys. 

 Their political organization. 



NOT counting the thousands of uninhabited islets con- 

 stituting the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, the coral 

 reefs bordering Cuba and in the western Caribbean, or 

 the five hundred rocky projections of the Grenadines, 

 there are forty inhabited islands in the West Indies, varying 

 in area from less than five square miles to the size of 

 New York State. The area and population of these are 

 shown in the following table. 



Table showing Area and Population of the West Indies 



AREA, POPU- 



square miles. lation. 

 Bahamas 5,450 54,000 



Great Antilles 



Cuba 45,000 1,631,687 



Santo Domingo 28,249 610,000 



Jamaica 4,218 639,491 



Porto Rico 3,550 806,708 



Total Great Antilles. 86,467 3,687,886 



Virgin Islands 



St. Croix 74 18,430 



St. Thomas 23 32,786 



St. John 21 950 



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