Why is There a Desert in the Caribbean? | Geography Anomaly
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2021
- The Caribbean has more than swaying coconut palms and sugarcane fields. In some areas, deserts prevail where one would probably expect tropical forests. These islands and peninsulas have had a very different history compared to the rest of the Caribbean, thanks to their unique desert environment.
Sources:
Features of the Caribbean Low Level Jet. International Journal of Climatology, 2008. Felicia S. Whyte, Michael A. Taylor,* Tannecia S. Stephenson and Jayaka D. Campbell.
The caribbean low‐level jet, the inter‐tropical convergence zone and precipitation patterns in the intra‐americas sea: a proposed dynamical mechanism. 2015. Hugo G. Hidalgo,Ana M. Durán‐quesada,Jorge A. Amador & Eric J. Alfaro.
Winter and Summer Structure of the Caribbean Low Level Jet, Journal of Climate. Ernesto Muñoz and Antonio J. Busalacchi, Sumant Nigam, Alfredo Ruiz-Barradas.
www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/docs/M...
Description and Mechanisms of the Mid-Year Upwelling in the Southern Caribbean Sea from Remote Sensing and Local Data, by Digna T. Rueda-Roa, Tal Ezer, Frank E. Muller-Karger. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida. Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University. www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/6/2/36...
Spatial variability of Spanish sardine (Sardinella aurita) abundance as related to the upwelling cycle off the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Digna Tibisay, Rueda Roa, Jeremy Mendoza, Frank Edgar , Muller-Karger, Yrene Astor, Juan José Cárdenas, Alina Achury
www.researchgate.net/figure/S...
Low Level Jets in the Tropical Americas, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Gabriela Mora.
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Perri, Michael. “Ruined and Lost”: Spanish Destruction of the Pearl Coast in the Early Sixteenth Century.” Environment and History 15, no, 2 (February 2009): 129-61. www.environmentandsociety.org/...
Historical Archaeology of Early Colonial Campsites on Margarita and Coche Islands, Venezuela
Andrzej T. Antczak, Ma. Magdalena Antczak, Oliver Antczak and Luis A. Lemoine Buffet
pp. 146-174
The Spanish Conquest of the Pearl Coast and the Search for the Province of the Meta. Michael Perri, Emory University.
Spanish Pearl-fishing Operations on the Pearl Coast in the Sixteenth Century. Sanford A. Mosk. The Hispanic American Historical Review.
The Aruba Heritage Report, Luc Alofs, 2008.
Curacao in the Age of Revolutions, 1795-1800. Wim Klooster, Gert Oostindie. Kiltv press.
A short natural history of Curacao. Gerard Van Buurt.
“The sole owners of the land”: Empire, war, and authority in the Guajira Peninsula, 1761-1779
Forrest Hylton.
www.researchgate.net/figure/A... - Наука та технологія
This was all so very interesting. Thank you for enlightening us about this region of the world, culturally, historically, and geographically. You taught me things I did not know, which is saying something given that I was born in Venezuela and lived in Valencia, a city a few miles inland along the central coast of the country. This area is quite tropical with lots of rain. However, as you stated in the video the coastal areas to the west and further east of the country are quite dry. As a child I traveled several times to Isla Margarita and I remember the arid landscapes, the cacti. I had no idea that there existed a tiny white tailed deer, so I'm glad to know that. Thank you. Our family also traveled to Coro, just south of the Peninsula de Paraguana, in the state of Falcon, where there was a desert with high golden sand dunes. Another hot and very dry region of the country.
I am curious what drew you to want to make a video about this particular region of South America? You definitely did it justice.
I tell people it's dry and colombia has several deserts.
Yeah but he never mentioned Venezuela. People doesn’t care whom that region belongs to.
@@geografisica You're showing your ignorance (besides your lousy attitude). Venezuela has the longest Caribbean coastline of any country. And you should really stop speaking for other people, given your warped perceptions. Peace...
It was so interesting indeed, I've seen this difference my whole life and never actually asked myself why it was like that. Awesome! the classic "peladero de chivo" 😄
@@geografisicabut people DO care…it’s the whole point of the video/thumbnail. Anyone that knows about maps would know he was talking about Venezuela/colombia
As a kid living in Venzuela I found it fascinating how you could be in a green jungle area one moment, then drive an hour away along the coast and be in a desert. I never thought about why. Thanks for the info.
Bueno pero todos aqui saben que zulia mejor estado (es joda... quizas)
@@ChemariusLorthis Nunca visite Zulia. bueno, una vez en el aeropuerto nada mas. Pero la costa cerca de Sucre tambien es bien desertificado.
That area of the South America is interesting. I have been reading about all the lightning there at the mouth of the river.
@@carlrichards5207 what have you read about the lightning? i havent heard anything, but i visited Aruba a few months ago and saw some of the craziest lightning ive ever seen.
You can see it in Hatay, Turkey as well. Drive from the mountains of Hatay to Syria and in the one hour time you’ll see the change.
I have ordered a lapel mic and will continue to work on improving audio+visuals. Thanks for the tips, everyone.
Thanks for your content!
Im really looking forward as I admire your effort! Im a Geography teacher from Brazil and never have learned about this phenomena; really good content, you have inspired me to learn about it
@@brunobarbosa9728 Thanks so much for watching!
You are one of the best explainers I found so far, keep it up I hope you will gain more subscribers who will admire your work
Great to watch no matter what the AV nerds say. Love the content, thank you for your work
Because there is so little rainfall on these islands, there's little run-off and underwater visibility is superb. Great for divers and snorkelers. Also, hurricanes are extremely rare here. That, plus the clear skies and strong winds, make it a great place to visit during the summer.
Little rainfall is a proximate answer. The ultimate question is why is there so little rainfall.
Several reasons: 1) Not enough topography and islands are too small to cause the air to rise enough. You need upward motion to break through the trade wind inversion to get storms 2) Strong trades cause upwelling of colder water from below. Sea surface temps never exceed 84 which is cool for that close to the equator. You need warmth to cause air to rise and you don't see that here. 3) Too close to South America where there are often massive thunderstorms. Air must sink around these and that happens at the ABC islands.@@chacmool2581
Also I'm guessing the upwelling makes a cold current and fights climate change
@@chacmool2581watch the video again, lol, it will answer your question.
@@emilv.3693 Nature doesn't fight against nature.
I'm from Maracaibo, Venezuela. I am impressed not only by the oceanographical but by the historic accuracy of this video, as well. By the way, my grandmother, Felicia Gómez, was guaiquerí. I loved this from head to toe.
Thanks for watching!
what's guaiqueri?
@@xolang thanks for asking. Guaiqueries are the aboriginal people from Margarita Island.
@@oswaldodgomezs4673 thanks for the prompt reply!
İ've just checked on the map. İt's the island below İsla de Coche. 👍🏾
@@xolang It’s the bigger one, north of Coche and Cubagua.
I’m a grad student studying corals in Curaçao, and have learned that the coral reef ecosystems in the area are doing much better right now compared to other reefs in the tropics. One reason is the upwelling in the region delivering cooler water, but another is the lack of precipitation. Less rain creates less runoff from cities and agriculture that would harm the health of coral reefs. Extremely unique location.
Love the video, keep up the great work!
I'm a native of the island Aruba, thanks for explaining our unique ecosystem 🌵
My daughter has used you as a resource three times, and it's raining straight As over here. It goes even further than that. Your videos have awakened a thirst for knowledge that she herself attributes to those times she discovered your channel. I'm proud of both of you.
Cringe, it’s not like school is very hard these days 😂 and why do you sound so condescending
I was born and lived in Venezuela for 19 years. Every beach I went to is a desert or desert-like. Until now, I thought this was the rule for coastlines rather than the exception.
Also, I loved learning about the deer species in Margarita! I had no idea.
as someone born and raised on Aruba, this was quite fascinating. Fun fact: if you look at the left most tip of the island you can see the effect of tradewinds on the sand dunes
I’m in Aruba right now and visited the rugged more natural northern coast and this is exactly the video I am looking for
Arikok National Park is always a cool place to visit.
It’s like a Minecraft biome where the desert just kinda pops up lol.
As a venezuelan that had visited many times Araya´s and Paraguaná´s peninsulas, I enyoyed very much this explanation. A visually stunning portrait of salt explotation in Araya in the 1940s can be found in Margot Benacerraf´s documentary "Araya", that certainly is worth a look
Thanks for watching, and thanks for adding some information for us all!
i live on aruba for over 50 years. this answered a lot of questions i had about my island....thank you
Thanks for watching!
I’ve visited Bonaire several times on dive trips. It has some of the best diving in the world with beautiful reefs that are easily accessible from shore without long boat trips. Usually on our last full day we avoid diving since we have to fly out the next day. Bonaire has a national park on one end of the island and I’ve visited it a couple of times. It’s a true desert in the image of the American southwest and an amazing juxtaposition to the tropical parts of the island. I’ve heard that part of the reason for this is that the ABC Islands are out of the hurricane belt and so they tend to miss tropical storms with all their rain.
Me standing on the Hilma Hooker is my background image.
@@tomo9126 I still remember the first time the Hilma Hooker's dark underside appeared in front of me as I was heading towards it.
Thanks, I did not know that.
I’ve dived Curaçao which isn’t bad. Have you dove Cayman? I found the diving and snorkelling there to be very good. Easy to see sharks, barracuda, octopus, eels, rays, tarpon, many other fish with some easy snorkelling.
@@MarcoDambrosio96 It was a little scary to see it suddenly appear. I was there in 98. I remember getting the sandy bottom at the shallow end of the boat. I think it was 90' (or maybe the deep end was 90?) I came down right in the middle of a cleaning station. There were 5 or 6 fish getting cleaned including a huge tuna. He was going around me, about 25' away keeping an eye on me. Most of the fish left but he kept circling, watching me. It was amazing. After a few more laps he left and disappeared into the depths.
Your videos are great and informative - I really like how you are respectful and appreciative of the various indigenous cultures mentioned here. I wish you success
Thank you for this insightful video! I’m a native Curacaoan and understanding why our beautiful little island is so dry and desertlike was very interesting!!
This was intensely concise and interesting. You covered the geographical, natural, historical, cultural, economic and climatological aspects of the region all in one sub 10 minute video. Might be a tad info dense but very impressive.
The UA-cam algorithm led me to your video, and I am so glad it did.
Thanks for this video. I live in Maracaibo. And it's amazing how you can get a two hour drive to a sandy beach, or to the cold Andes mountains. I love this city.
As a colombiana myself, I had wondered since visiting La Guajira peninsula as a child, "why on earth is it so dry?", given Colombia is the country on earth that receives most rainfall. To date, La Guajira is one of the poorest regions in Colombia, with the highest infant mortality rate in all the country (mostly young wayú kids through preventable diseases and malnutrition). Tough geographical conditions create tough people who were impossible to subdue by the central government. As result, La Guajira is quite dangerous for outsiders, a culture of illegality arose there so corruption is rife. The place has spectacular landscapes but I wouldn't recommend any clueless outsider go there. You've been warned.
I lived in Aruba during the 50-60's. Our yards were filled with S. America soil and our water came from mostly desalinated ocean from the refinery. They had a 3 water pipe system with potable for washing showers and garden yard irrigation ,fresh, and sewer. The refinery is still there but mostly its a tourist economy now. Dad got a load of this soil and grew a pumpkin, the native arubans were impressed - had never seen one. Esso Exxon made huge profits and was turned over to the Arubans when they closed our lil heaven in the 70's.
Thank you for reviving those wonderful memories.
Thank you so much. I was in la guajira a few years ago and YES
it was weird to see desert next to the sea. Beautiful place and people
I was there this last winter. Super beautiful landscapes but my experience with the people was, quite frankly, pretty sad overall. Lots of really aggressive begging. Also, you really need to keep your wits about you. There have been lots of robberies in the last year or so. From what I gather, things weren't always this bad. In 2023 things aren't so great there.
man gave a lesson on both history and climatology
This channel help scratch that itch for geography knowledge that other channels don’t really hold up to. Keep it up
Margarita Island was my family’s vacation spot. For some reason I associated Caribbean islands with desert islands. Crazy
Love the videos so far, super interesting and can't wait for more!
im blessed enough to say i visited aruba, bonaire and curacao this summer! they're beautiful islands and unique islands with a very alien feeling environment
I'm from Caracas, but my family is from the Paraguana Peninsula, every year when I go visit my grandparents I always stop at the dunes of Coro. My little Saharan paradise in the caribbean
Soy de Venezuela, no solo la península de Araya es desértica, Cumaná y parte del estado anzoategui también posee zonas cerca de la costa semi desérticas. Por cierto la playa en Araya es espectacular. Me pareció triste saber que el río Manzanares llegó a tener cocodrilos alguna vez.
el estilo por lo que escribes está muy bonito.
Lo interesante también que, de el mismo estado Sucre, una de las penínsulas es desértica, con las características que habla el video, mientras que la otra es selvática. Separadas apenas por 4 horas en carro.
@angryman8823:
This reminds me of the expression, in English,
"Crocodile tears."
Thanks for the good word.from Venezuela.
the river doesn't have crocodiles anymore? el rio no habla crocodilos?
@@porsche911sbsI don’t think so, same thing with the toninas (a kind of pink dolphin that lives around the orinoco river) they are almost extinct sadly :/
Being a colombian myself I really don't know why I never wondered this. I have been to La Guajira several times in my life and I just kind of accepted that there was a desert in there. This is great content btw
This was fascinating. I took a holiday to Aruba and Curaçao in the late 1970s and found the islands uniquely dry, but never thought about considering them a “desert” until now. Thank you for this great video.
Excellent short video. I have an MA in Geography, and found this presentation to be just exactly nerdy enough to be satisfying.
I am 59 and finally have my question answered from childhood. I always wondered why driving from La Guaira to Caracas, on one side you see red soil with Cactus and on the other a Tropical Rainforrest!!
I've long wondered this. It's great to hear an explanation, and also some of the related cultural history.
I'm from The Bahamas where it rains a lot and the climate is more stereotypically Caribbean. When I went to Curaçao a few months ago, it was jarring to see all the cactus and dust and I wondered why it was like that ever since.
This video is very informative. Thank you very much for making it
It makes sense after coming back from Aruba. I was in pure astonishment due to the weather being both tropical and a dessert. I hadn’t done my research beforehand unfortunately. But this video is very informative and explains what I was witnessing… I advise any and everyone to visit these dessert islands as they have rich history and beautiful weather.
As someone who was born in the Paraguaná península I teared up a bit. Even tho I'm white Hispanic I miss my sunny dessert and 60 mph wind everyday 😢😢. It's truly an unique weather. I grew up in punto fijo
I was watching this video at work, and I was reminded of a book I read in 7th grade called The Cay. It took place in Curaçao. During that time a family friend of mine would also go to Aruba. This video inadvertently brought back some good memories
Just found your channel. Very good work. I would have never thought there was so much history in these small desert islands!
We vacation to Aruba pretty often. I love the desert landscape.
From Curaçao here. Good vid.
First time seeing your videos and I'm now subbed. It took you under 10 minutes to calmly explain topic with enough detail to accurately inform future thoughts. Great job man, I'm excited for my new rabbit hole.
Hey dude i've been in the desert of Falcon in Venezuela it has some pretty cool dunes were you can even sandboard is super cool dude. I also have in the isles you mentioned. The paraguaná pensinsula is trully an exotic location. You can go from desert to a rainforest in the same state in less than 2 hours drive.
Really interesting content! Hope the channel keeps growing. Looking forward to new videos with better sound :)
I live in Barranquilla, city located in Colombia's caribean region, and you are very right, it’s incredible that there is a desert in the middle of tropical climate, the wind is quite strong specially in the first months of the year, thank you for the explanation.
Great content. Subscribed and looking forward to more from this channel.
Didn't know there were literal desert islands. Fascinating.
More of them in Baja and off the coast of Sonora.
Very interesting, I'll definitely stay to see this become a big channel, gl man! :)
Thank you for this video. I’m from Venezuela and I have been in many of these locations. I never knew why it was so dry there but I always wonder. So thanks for this.
Several times, I have found myself staring at Google Maps questioning why there is a small desert in Venezuela. Now I know! Thanks for the video :)
I'm Venezuelan from the state where the semiarid climate and the Andes meet I definitely didn't learn enough about this in school
Yes but this video is not about Venezuela, is about the Caribbean.
@@geografisica Okay, but I used to live very close by, and I should've learned this at school, is what I was trying to say. In geography class, for instance
@@BernardoPatino I agree with you the schools here (Caracas) did not teach it either, and that was a few decades ago when things were less political indoctrination...
hey I'm venezuelan and this is the first time I see a quality video essay about the land I live, thank you for giving this interest to this part of the earth
Yes but this video is not about Venezuela, is about the Caribbean.
@@geografisicaVenezuela is part of Caribbean, you should watch this video again. This video is about southern Caribbean (Dutch Caribbean, Venezuela and Colombia).
Im Venezuelan but being leaving in Canada for over 30yrs.. your geography and history content is so thorough that in the length of this video I have learnt what I didn't in my entire highschool..
Thank you for expanding my knowledge..
Well done Sr.
not leaving, but living
I was trying to research this years ago and couldn’t t find a good source on this exact topic! It was something that was frustrating me for years! Thank you thank you!
Super cool video! I love this kind of content that explains both the natural history and human history of a place
I don't know why this channel suddenly popped up for me, but I'm enjoying the depth of your presentations. Subscribed
Thank you for this very informative video. As a venezuelan is great to know how the climate here has defined our history and progress. Venezuela has a wide variety of climates and I'm thankful you explained why there are some deserts here. Great work!
Can't wait to watch more content from you.
As someone who's family is from Aruba, it's always fun seeing the shock on people's faces when I explain to them that its all cactus and desert hahaha
there's a huge arid area in brasil called cerrado, would be cool to see a video on it, or maybe the huge pantanal swamp
I do plan on talking about the Cerrado and Caatinga in a future video. Very interesting area.
we've struck gold!! Thank you Casual Earth for these beautiful tales
About 100 years ago a lot of Lebanese immigrants came to Colombia fleeing persecution from the Ottomans and they found that area in the guajira peninsula to be very much like Lebanon and the Levant and many settled there. Today you'll find that a huge amount of the population of that region of Colombia are descendants of the Lebanese diaspora, particularly in a town called Maicao
I love this vid! I’ve watched like 4 of your vids, pythons in Florida, cicada killers, frost holes, and now this. I subbed during that first vid. Good stuff! The content is excellent, the editing is good but feels a bit out of date somehow, your narration is good too but may be a bit dry sounding. I don’t mind but I think a few minor changes could lead to greater success here on YT. This has a distinct educational feel to it, which MAY turn people off, especially the crowd that inhabits YT.
Either way I’ll be binging the content you’ve uploaded and hoping for more!
Thanks
There is also a significant rain shadow event in the guajira peninsula… as all moisture coming from the west and south is traped by the sierra nevada de santa marta
As a Dutchman, I am familiar with the ABC Islands, because they are still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although with high level of autonomy. I always wondered why the ABC Islands were so dry. Now I know.
I'm from the Paraguaná Peninsula (Venezuela), which is located 27 kilometers south of Aruba. Actually most of the people here also ignore why we are an arid region 😅
@@jesuscr0011 So much wind, wasted electric generation... Politicians wasted our money, didn't put the things to work. RIP Parque eólico de Paraguaná, "Hecho en Sociaismo" one of the many "white elephants" from the "fifth" republic...
@@freeculture Venezuela has always treated Paraguaná as a colony, the development that Paraguaná received was done by the American and Dutch oil companies. Unfortunately you can see how Aruba is self-sufficient in electricity and water, while Paraguaná is not.
It's rare to find something you've never heard of. Thank you for the video!
Learn something new everyday. Ty!
Your videos are fascinating and very well done! I have been wondering this for a while, and now I know the explanation. I am wondering, would you be able to make a presentation on the Dahomey Gap in Western sub-Saharan Africa? All I know is that there is an area in Ghana and Togo that is much drier than other areas to the West that are at the same latitude.
Love little geographical nooks like this.
I like the retro low-production-value of this video (seriously!), the hokey tie and bad mic, with paper maps is *chefs kiss*
Been asking myself this question for a while glad to just randomly get recommended the answer!
Very good video. I have spent many days in one island off the Venezuelan coast (morning to night only, because you can't sleep overnight in it). I always enjoyed to see how the clouds gathered on the mountains on the continent. Mostly these mountains fall almost directly on the see, and rise quickly up to more than 1000 mts. Every afternoon it rains on those mountains, but almost never on the islands. I have been in the middle of one of those rains and they can be torrential!
I'm really glad I found this channel. Top notch content!
Shoutout to the ABC islands - some of the best diving anywhere! All 3 islands are unique and worth a visit.
Very informative in so many ways. Thanks for shedding light on this part of the world.
Maracaibo is the hottest city there is when it's not windy. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. I did not know about these Carribean deserts.
Thanks for bringing light to this subject, interesting.
Fascinating! I had no idea about these places and their unique climate.
It's incredible how the weather can be so constant in that place, there are no mountains there! Incredible that just a little difference in air temperature can explain it.
This video had tons of info- geography, weather, science, and history!
I’m glad I found this video. I had been staring at a map for hours wondering why the hell deserts were there.
Clear and well-detailed explanations on a very complex subject.
Absolutely fascinating, definitely added to the top of the destinations list
I'm glad you talked some about my home country, I admittedly learned a lot from this video!
Thank you, I enjoyed your video, the visuals, the presentation, the voicework, and an interesting topic, all of it came together to create a video I enjoy more than I can put into words. Your voice and pacing of information was rather pleasant, at the speed in which I don't lose focus but am also able to relax as I take in the information. I certainly hope I can find videos like this in the future.
This video was throughly enjoyable.
Another great video!
I've been to this part of the Caribbean, and I concur.
Clear water for diving
It’s refreshing to see my dear Venezuela mentioned. Greetings from Isla de Margarita
Nice video! On a similar topic would be the canary islands. They also have wildly different ecosystems on the same island: black sand beaches, oasis, desert, etc. Make a video about how a landslide from the canaries could make a giant tsunami.
I enjoyed this video, I actually learned something today and enjoyed watching and listening, keep up the great work !!
Fascinating. Thank you 🙏
This is the content I crave
When I was working on a cruise ship nearly 40 years ago, was pretty surprising how dry some of the islands are. Curacao, st Thomas etc
Fascinating video. Thank you.
I'm from Venezuela myself. Thanks for all this info!!! Love the video!
Thanks for watching!
youtube has been recommending me small creators for the first time in a long time
I am well above average in my knowledge of geography, but other than identifying Aruba and Curaçao this is all entirely new and very interesting information. Well done!
I love this channel! Big geography fan