Trinidad and Tobago Geography Profile 2008

Location

Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates

11 00 N, 61 00 W

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Area

total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries

0 km

Coastline

362 km

Maritime claims

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin

Climate

tropical; rainy season (June to December)

Terrain

mostly plains with some hills and low mountains

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, asphalt

Land use

arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16%
other: 76.22% (2005)

Irrigated land

40 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

3.8 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 0.31 cu km/yr (68%/26%/6%)
per capita: 237 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms

Environment - current issues

water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt