Geography

Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic republic consisting of 23 islands in the southern Caribbean between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela. They are south-easterly islands of the Lesser Antilles, located close to the South American mainland.

Covering an area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,979 square miles), the country consists of the two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and 21 smaller islands - including Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos, Gaspar Grande (or Gasparee), Little Tobago, and St. Giles Island.

Geologically, the islands are not part of the Antillean arc. Rather, Trinidad was once part of the South American mainland and is situated on its continental shelf, and Tobago is part of a sunken mountain chain related to the continent. The islands are now separated from the continent of South America by the Gulf of Paria; Dragon's Mouth, a 19-kilometre-wide northern passage; and Serpent's Mouth, a 14- kilometre-wide southern passage.

Trinidad

Trinidad is 11 km (7 mi) off the northeast coast of Venezuela and 130 km south of the Grenadines. The island measures 4,768 sq km (1,841 sq mi) in area (comprising 93.0% of the country's total area) with an average length of 80 km (50 mi) and an average width of 59 km (37 mi). The island appears rectangular in shape with three projecting peninsular corners.

Trinidad is traversed by three distinct mountain ranges that are a continuation of the Venezuelan coastal cordillera. The Northern Range, an outlier of the Andes Mountains of Venezuela, consists of rugged hills that parallel the coast. This range rises into two peaks. The highest, El Cerro del Aripo, is 940 metres high; the other, El Tucuche, reaches 936 metres. The Central Range extends diagonally across the island and is a low-lying range with swampy areas rising to rolling hills; its maximum elevation is 325 metres. The Caroni Plain, composed of alluvial sediment, extends southward, separating the Northern Range and Central Range. The Southern Range consists of a broken line of hills with a maximum elevation of 305 metres.

There are numerous rivers and streams on the island of Trinidad; the most significant are the Ortoire River, 50 kilometres long, which extends eastward into the Atlantic, and the 40 kilometre-long Caroni River, reaching westward into the Gulf of Paria. Most of the soils of Trinidad are fertile, with the exception of the sandy and unstable terrain found in the southern part of the island.

Tobago

Tobago is 30 km northeast of Trinidad and measures about 298 sq km (115 sq mi) in area, or 5.8% of the country's area, 41 km (25.5 mi) in length and 12 km (7.5 mi) at its greatest width. The island is cigar-shaped in appearance, with a northeast-southwest alignment.

Tobago is mountainous and dominated by the Main Ridge, which is 29 kilometres long with elevations up to 640 metres. There are deep, fertile valleys running north and south of the Main Ridge. The south-western tip of the island has a coral platform. Although Tobago is volcanic in origin, there are no active volcanoes. Forestation covers 43 % of the island. There are numerous rivers and streams, but flooding and erosion are less severe than in Trinidad. The coastline is indented with numerous bays, beaches and narrow coastal plains.

Tobago has several small satellite islands. The largest of these, Little Tobago, is starfish shaped, hilly, and consists of 1.2 sq km of impenetrable vegetation.