The Caribbean Sea is not a bowl of even depth - it is a broad basin ringed by the Greater Antilles to the north and the curving Lesser Antilles to the east, with a narrow, far deeper notch cut into the northwest floor: the Cayman Trough. Toggle the Cayman Trough highlight to see how much deeper that one notch runs, or switch on the Antilles island arc to see the ring of islands framing the basin.
Published figures: surface area about 2,754,000 sq km, average depth about 2,200 m, and a maximum depth of about 7,686 m at the Cayman Trough - the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Caribbean Sea 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows the Caribbean Sea as a broad, semi-enclosed basin rather than a flat bowl. The Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico) frame the north edge, and the Lesser Antilles curve down the east side, together ringing the basin the way they do on a real map. Toggle the Cayman Trough highlight to see the one narrow notch that plunges far deeper than the rest of the floor, or switch on the Antilles island arc to see the island framing more clearly against the basin.
The sea covers roughly 2,754,000 sq km with an average depth of about 2,200 m, but the Cayman Trough - between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica - cuts down to about 7,686 m, the deepest point anywhere in the Caribbean Sea. More than 700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays sit within or around the basin, and the region is home to the Belize Barrier Reef, part of the Mesoamerican Reef and the second-largest barrier reef system in the world at about 300 km long. The sea also sits squarely in the Atlantic hurricane belt, with its warm surface waters feeding storms roughly June through November.
- Toggle the Cayman Trough highlight to see the deep notch stand out from the surrounding basin floor
- Toggle the Antilles island arc to highlight the ring of islands framing the basin
- Read area, depth, island count, and reef figures in the panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Surface area | about 2,754,000 sq km |
| Average depth | about 2,200 m |
| Maximum depth | about 7,686 m (Cayman Trough) |
| Islands, islets, cays | 700+ |
| Framed by | Greater Antilles (north), Lesser Antilles (east) |
| Notable reef | Belize Barrier Reef, about 300 km, part of the Mesoamerican Reef |
| Storm season | Atlantic hurricane belt, roughly June-November |
For another shallow, reef-dense basin, open the Great Barrier Reef 3D Explorer, or compare a marine basin with its own deep-versus-shallow contrast in the Black Sea 3D Explorer.
The Caribbean basin, the Greater and Lesser Antilles arc, and the deep Cayman Trough notch all render on your device with WebGL - the 3D engine downloads once (about 0.7 MB) and is then cached, so re-opening the explorer or orbiting the basin again is instant and nothing you view is uploaded.
This is an educational approximation - the basin profile, island-arc footprint, and vertical scale (including the trough) are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How deep is the Caribbean Sea?
Average depth is about 2,200 m, but the Cayman Trough between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica plunges to about 7,686 m - the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea, much deeper than the surrounding basin floor.
What islands border the Caribbean Sea?
The Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico) frame the north edge, and the curving Lesser Antilles run down the east side, together with Central America to the west and South America to the south.
What is the Cayman Trough?
It is a narrow, unusually deep notch in the northwest Caribbean floor, reaching about 7,686 m - far deeper than the sea's average depth of about 2,200 m.
Does the Caribbean Sea have coral reefs?
Yes - it is home to the Belize Barrier Reef, part of the Mesoamerican Reef and the second-largest barrier reef system in the world at about 300 km long.
Why is the Caribbean known for hurricanes?
It sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt, and its warm surface waters help feed storms during the season, which runs roughly June through November.
Is this a scientific terrain model?
No. It is an educational explorer using published figures - the basin profile, island-arc footprint, and vertical scale (including the trough) are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.