Geography of Trinidad :: Essays Papers

Geography of Trinidad Just seven miles of northeast of its mother land Venezuela, separated by the Gulf of Paria , Trinidad is one of only 1,864 square miles. It is an island surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. With a longitude (W) of between 60* 54' and 61*56', Trinidad has a latitude (N) of between 10* 3' and 10* 50'.With a tropical climate and rainy season that runs form June to December, unlike the other Caribbean Islands, Trinidad is not on the tropical storms and hurricane paths. Moreover the mountains of Trinidad are unlike those of the other Caribbean Islands. Trinidad has mountains that stretch southwards to the plain and along the gulf and down to the sea, the mountains lay along the whole northern boarder. Its mountains are not steep, cone shaped and rugged. From east to west the mountains of Trinidad run in three lines that are parallel but are separated by two large valleys. As De Verteuil wrote â€Å" Trinidad, being a comparatively newly-settled island, presen ts in many parts the appearance of a wild unreclaimed country. It is covered with dense and lofty forests, the heavy appearance of endless woodland being only broken here and there by vast savannahs, or by the effort of agricultural industry, - except, perhaps, at the Naparimas , where an extensive district is under uninterrupted cultivation.† As beautiful as the valleys are, the plantations have its own beauty, filled with cane-fields and cacao plants, giving it a violet-red hue when the leaves are young, and a range of colors from red, yellow, green, and dark crimson pod withy the older branches. Trees are also very colorful, some have flowers and some such as the Poui have a brilliant yellow color, The Roble has an orange color, and there are many other trees that have colors from white to pink and violaceouse. At the same time, because most of the population deals with plantation, as estimated in 1993, fifteen percent of the land is permanent crops and nine percent permane nt pastures, there are many environmental issues. Some of these current issues in Trinidad include â€Å"water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion†. Trinidad also has many valuable natural resources such as natural gas, asphalt, and petroleum.