Trinidad and Tobago , island country of the southeastern West Indies. It consists of two main islandsβTrinidad and Tobagoβand several smaller islands. Forming the two southernmost links in the Caribbean chain, Trinidad and Tobago lie close to the continent of South America , northeast of Venezuela and northwest of Guyana. Trinidad, by far the larger of the two main islands, has an area of about 1, square miles 4, square km.
It is 7 miles 11 km from the Venezuelan coast at its nearest point and is separated from it by the Gulf of Paria and two narrow channels, where there are several small islands and rocks. Tobago, much smaller, with an area of about square miles square km , lies 20 miles 30 km to the northeast of Trinidad. Extending diagonally from southwest to northeast, Tobago is about 30 miles 50 km long and more than 10 miles 16 km across at its widest point.
Also called Bird of Paradise Island, Little Tobago was once noted as the only wild habitat of the greater bird of paradise outside of New Guinea ; however, the bird is no longer found there. Trinidad and Tobago achieved independence from the United Kingdom in and obtained membership in the Commonwealth and the United Nations that same year. It became a republic in Physiographically, the islands represent an extension of the South American mainland.
The outstanding physical feature of the island of Trinidad is its Northern Range, a continuation of the coastal ranges of the Andes Mountains in Venezuela. The Northern Range is the site of a large number of waterfalls, the most spectacular of which are the Blue Basin Falls and the Maracas Falls, both feet 91 metres high. On the southern side of the range, foothills with an elevation of approximately feet metres descend to the Northern Plain.
Running across the centre of the island, from southwest to northeast, is the Central Range, the highest point of which is Mount Tamana 1, feet [ metres]. A third row of mainly low hills, the Southern Range, adds further variety to the mostly flat or undulating surface of Trinidad. Rivers are numerous but short, the longest being the Ortoire in the south and the Caroni in the north.
