Situated in the northeastern part of the E-facing loop of the West Indies island arc, the Leeward Islands constitute the northerly and northwesterly chains of the Lesser Antilles (the southerly ones being the Windward Islands, q.v.). The Virgin Islands (q.v.), sometimes included with the Leeward Islands, lie to the W and are rather distinct geologically; they are treated here separately.
As described here the Leeward Islands are separated from the Virgin Islands platform by the deep Anegada (or Jungfern) Passage and extend from 15°00′ to 18°35′N and 61°40′ to 63°20′W. The term “Leeward Islands” (in French = Iles-du-vent) comes from the fact that the trade winds here are from the E to NE, and the Caribbean Current sets to the W, so that the northeastern islands in the Lesser Antilles are “up-wind;” in other languages the concept is reversed. (Note:There is a corresponding “Leeward” and “Windward” grouping in the Society Islands of French Polynesia.) Administratively the islands have...
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Fink, L.K., Fairbridge, R.W. (1975). Leeward islands . In: World Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31081-1_67
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