Abstract : A climatological study of the Caribbean Basin, an area that includes Central America, the West Indies, and Northern South America. After describing the general geography of land areas in the Caribbean Basin, it discusses major meteorological features of the entire study area. The geography and major climatic controls of each of the three major regions that constitute the Basin are then discussed. Each major region is then broken into several sub-regions of 'climatic commonality'. Finally, the four so-called 'seasons' in each of these sub-regions are discussed in considerable detail, with sections on 'semipermanent climatic controls, 'mesoscale and local effects', and 'typical weather'. (RH)