West Djdies, the name given to the vast archipelago of about 1,000 islands between North and South America, extending in two irregular lines, which unite at Hayti, from the peninsulas of Yucatan and Florida to the mouth of the Orinoco. They enclose the Caribbean sea, dividing it from the gulf of Mexico and from the Atlantic ocean. They lie between lat. 10° and 28° N. and Ion. 59° and 85° W., and are divided into four groups: 1, the Bahamas, about 600 in number, low flat islands of coral formation, S. E. of Florida, and extending toward Hayti (see Bahamas); 2, the Greater Antilles, between the Bahamas and Central America, comprising the four great islands of Cuba, Hayti or Santo Domingo, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, with a few neighboring small ones; 3, the Lesser Antilles or Caribbean islands, extending in a semicircular line from Porto Rico to the mouth of the Orinoco, and by some geographers also called collectively "Windward islands, but by others, as well as the English government, divided into Leeward and Windward islands, respectively N. and S. of lat. 15°; and 4, the group off the coast of Venezuela (the Leeward islands of the Spanish explorers), embracing Margarita, Tortuga, Buen Ayre, Curacoa, and several smaller islands.

The following table exhibits the area, population, etc, of the larger islands and groups, according to the latest authorities:

The surface of the islands is very diversified. The Bahamas are low, flat, and of coralline formation. The Antilles, Greater and Lesser, are volcanic, and form the peaks of a mountain chain continuous with the N. E. range of Venezuela, and rising in Cuba, Hayti, and Jamaica into summits from 6,000 to 8,000 ft. high, and in many of the Lesser Antilles to the height of 4,000 to 5,000 ft. Hayti, Jamaica, and some other islands occasionally experience slight earthquake shocks. The volcano in Guadeloupe occasionally emits smoke and flame, but the latest violent eruption in the archipelago was in St. Vincent in 1812. Hurricanes occur nearly every year, and are sometimes very destructive, especially in the Lesser Antilles. The Bahamas are intensely hot, though for a part of the day the sea breezes temper the heat. The more mountainous islands have a temperate climate. Gold, silver, alum, copper, and coal are found in Cuba; gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, and rock salt in Hayti; lead, copper, and salt in Jamaica; gold, copper, iron, lead, and coal in Porto Rico; asphaltum and petroleum in Trinidad; and salt in the Bahamas. The characteristic feature of the botany of the West Indies is the predominance of ferns and orchidaceous plants.

The forests furnish mahogany, lignum vitae, granadilla, rosewood, and other valuable woods. Tropical fruits abound. Of spices, drugs, and dye stuffs, ginger, pepper, aloes, sassafras, annatto, cochineal, logwood, and indigo are the principal. Maize, tobacco, coffee, sugar, and cotton are cultivated. Of the formerly existing wild animals, the agouti, peccary, raccoon, and wild boar, the last only remains. Birds are numerous, and their characteristics are beautiful and varied plumage and lack of song. Reptiles abound, including turtles, lizards, and snakes. Fish are very abundant. Insects and reptiles are the pest of the islands. - When Columbus discovered the West Indies, the southern islands were peopled by the Caribs, a fierce tribe, and the northern by the Arrawaks, a gentler race. Both are now nearly extinct. About half of the entire population are white.

Slavery is abolished in all the islands except those of Spain. Spanish, French, and English are the languages spoken, though in Hayti the colored races use a patois combining the African tongues with French and Spanish. In the Spanish, French, and Venezuelan islands, and Hayti, the Roman Catholic religion prevails; and in the British islands Anglican Protestantism is established.