|
|
|
       
| |
|
|
Trinidad and Tobago:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other pages in this profile of Trinidad and Tobago:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
| |
Background |
First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. |
| |
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) |
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 |
|
Copyright 2008 World Sites Atlas (sitesatlas.com) |