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Article: WEST INDIES
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- Young Students Learning Library
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The West Indies are a long chain of islands stretching
about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from Mexico and Florida to
South America. The islands separate the Atlantic Ocean from
the Caribbean Sea and extend a little into the Gulf of
Mexico. Their total land area is about 91,000 square miles
(235,700 sq. km), and their population is around 30 million
people.
When Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492, he came
first to the West Indies. He thought he had found islands
just east of India, so he called them the Indies Islands.
They were later referred to as the West Indies to
distinguish them from the East Indies, which lie between
Asia and Australia.
Early mapmakers often marked on ...