Windward Islands, chain of volcanic islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, situated at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles between approximately latitude 16° and 12° north and longitude 60° and 62° west. They have a total land area of about 3,657 sq km (1,412 sq mi). The principal islands, running north to south, are Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent, and Grenada; the Grenadines, a group of about 600 small islands, lie between St Vincent and Grenada. The islands of Trinidad and Tobago, to the south of Grenada, and Barbados, to the east of St Vincent, are not considered part of the Windward Islands. In political geography, Martinique is an overseas department of France; Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines are independent states, formerly British dependencies.