9781422286319

The Land (Opposite) Boats are docked in the peaceful waters of Bay St. Jean, St. Barts. (Right) Volcanic islands rise above a warm beach in the Leeward group. The islands that make up the Leeward group were created by volcanic activity millions of years ago. 1

THERE IS A LITTLE bit of paradise to be found on the Leeward Islands, which include Anguilla, Saba, Sint Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Martin (which is divided into French St. Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten), St. Barthélemy (St. Barts), and Guadeloupe, which includes seven inhabited islands. The archipelago that is the Leeward Islands is located in the northeast- ern Caribbean. The word leeward is a nautical term that means “sheltered from the wind,” and the islands of the Leeward group received this name because of their location in relation to the trade winds that blow across the Caribbean. The Leewards make up the northern half of the Lesser Antilles. They are situated in two arcs, running southeast to northwest. The inner ring of islands is composed of volcanoes that are about 15 million years old—a young age by the standards of geological time—and includes the islands

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