Windward Passage

Windward Passage
The Windward Passage marked in red.
Windward Passage is located in Haiti
Windward Passage
Windward Passage
Windward Passage is located in Cuba
Windward Passage
Windward Passage
Windward Passage is located in Caribbean
Windward Passage
Windward Passage
Coordinates20°N 74°W / 20°N 74°W / 20; -74
Basin countriesCuba
Haiti
Max. width80 kilometres (50 mi)
Average depth1,700 metres (5,600 ft)

Windward Passage (French: Passage au Vent; Spanish: Paso de los Vientos) is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The strait specifically lies between the easternmost region of Cuba and the northwest of Haiti.[1] 80 km (50 mi) wide, the Windward Passage has a threshold depth of 1,700 m (5,600 ft).

With Navassa Island on its southern approach, it connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and is in the direct path of shipping between the Panama Canal and the eastern seaboard of the United States.[1] From either the eastern tip of the Guantánamo Province of Cuba, or the western tip of Haiti's Nord-Ouest Department, it is possible to see lights on the other side of the Windward Passage.[2]

  1. ^ a b Riley, Shannon Rose (2006). Imagi-Nations in black and white: Cuba, Haiti, and the performance of difference in United States national projects, 1898–1940 (Thesis). University of California, Davis. p. 50. OCLC 191680434. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012.
  2. ^ Lapidus, Benjamin L. "Stirring the Ajiaco: Changüí, Son, and the Haitian Connection." In Cuban Counterpoints: The Legacy of Fernando Ortiz, edited by Mauricio A. Font and Alfonso W. Quiroz, 237-45. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2005.