Moruga –Christopher Columbus monument. Columbus landed here on his third voyage in 1498. This is on the southern coast of the island of Trinidad, West Indies
The original name for the island in theArawaks' language wasIëre which meant "Land of the Hummingbird".[5]Christopher Columbus renamed itLa Isla de la Trinidad ('The Island of theTrinity'), fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage.[6] This has since been shortened toTrinidad.Indo-Trinidadians called the island चीनीदत्त(Devanagari script), 𑂒𑂲𑂢𑂲𑂠𑂞𑂹𑂞(Kaithi script), چینی دت(Perso-Arabic script),Chinidat orChinidad inTrinidadian Hindustani which translated to the land of sugar. The usage of the term goes back to the 19th century when recruiters fromIndia would call the islandChinidat as a way of luring workers into indentureship.[7] On Tuesday, 31 July, 1498 Columbus sent a sailor to climb up to the main top and sighted a cluster of three peaks, therefore Columbus named the island Trinidad from the three peaks and Columbus's special devotion to the Trinity.[8]
Caribs andArawaks lived in Trinidad long beforeChristopher Columbus encountered the islands on his third voyage on 31 July 1498. The island remained Spanish until 1797, but it was settled mostly by French colonists from theFrench Caribbean, especiallyMartinique.[9] In 1889 the two islands became a single Britishcrown colony. Trinidad and Tobago was granted self-governance in 1958 and independence from theUnited Kingdom in August 1962,[10] and it became a republic in September 1976.[11]
Major landforms include the hills of theNorthern,Central and Southern Ranges (Dinah ranges), theCaroni,Nariva and Oropouche Swamps, and the Caroni and Naparima Plains.Major river systems include theCaroni, North and South Oropouche andOrtoire Rivers. There are many other natural landforms such as beaches and waterfalls. Trinidad has two seasons per the calendar year: the rainy season and the dry season.El Cerro del Aripo, at 940 metres (3,084 ft), is the highest point in Trinidad. It is part of the Aripo Massif and is located in theNorthern Range on the island, northeast of the town ofArima.[12]
As of the 2011 Trinidad and Tobago Census, the population was 35.43%Indian, 34.22%African, 7.66% mixed African and East Indian, and 15.16%mixed race.[1] Venezuela has also had a great impact on Trinidad's culture, such as introducing the music styleparang to the island. Many groups overlap. For example, a "Dougla" is a person of African and Indian descent.[13][14][15]
There are multiple festivals on Trinidad, featuring the music of the Caribbean and thesteelpan (which originated on Trinidad and is the country's national instrument); These festivals[16] include the multi-national,pre-LentenCarnivál,J'ouvert, andPanorama, the national steelpan competition.
The island of Trinidad has a rich biodiversity.[19] The fauna is overwhelmingly of South American origin. There are about 100 species of mammals including theGuyanese red howler monkey, thecollared peccary, thered brocket deer, theocelot and about 70 species ofbats.[20] There are over 400 species of birds including the endemicTrinidad piping-guan. Reptiles are well represented, with about 92 recorded species including the largest species of snake in the world, thegreen anaconda, thespectacled caiman, and one of the largest lizards in the Americas, thegreen iguana. Trinidad is also the largestleatherback turtle nesting site in the western hemisphere; they nest on Trinidad's eastern and northern beaches. There are 37 recorded frog species, including the tinyEl Tucuche golden tree frog,Trinidad poison frog, and the more widespread hugecane toad.[21] About 43 species of freshwater fish are known from Trinidad, including the well knownguppy. It is estimated that there are at least 80,000 arthropods, and at least600 species of butterflies.[22]
The William Beebe Tropical Research Station (founded byWilliam Beebe), also known as Simla, lies 8 kilometres (5 mi) north ofArima.
Theeconomy of Trinidad and Tobago is diversified, based to a large extent on oil andnatural gas. It is one of the leading gas-based export centers in the world, being one of the top five exporters ofliquefied natural gas and the largest onshore natural gas well was recently discovered in southern Trinidad. This has allowed Trinidad to capitalize on the biggest mineral reserves within its territories. It is anoil-rich country and stable economically.[23][24]
The VenezuelaTertiaryBasin is asubsidence basin formed between the Caribbean and South Americanplates, and is bounded on the north by the coastranges of Venezuela and the Northern Range of Trinidad, and bounded on the south by theGuayana Shield.[26] This Guayana shield supplied fine-grainedclasticsediments, which with the subsidence, formed a regional negativegravity anomaly and growthfaults.[27] Oil and gas discoveries from thePliocene MorugaGroup include Teak (1968), Samaan (1971), Poui (1972) and Galeota.[28] These fields are mainly faultedanticlinetraps producing from depths of 1.2 to 4.2 km (0.75 to 2.61 mi) subsea, with Teak possessing a hydrocarbon column almost 1 km (0.62 mi) thick.[27]
Hydrocarbon bearing anticlines include those associated withPitch Lake, Forest Reserve, Point Fortin, Penal, Barrackpore, and Balata Fields. The Los Bajos Fault is awrench fault, withLower Pliocene displacement of 6.51 miles, bordered on the north by the Siparia syncline, and on the south by the Erin syncline. Finally, theSouthern Range consists of anticlinal folds, including the Rock Dome-Herrera anticline and the Moruga-West Field. East of this Rock Dome areen echelon folds containing the Lizard Springs Field. South of these folds is another fold trend containing the Moruga-East, Guayaguayare, Beach, and Galeota Fields. South of the Morne Diablo-Quinam Erin Field westward is a strongly folded anticline associated with shalediapirism, which extends west southwestward to the Pedernales Field in southeast Venezuela. The northeast portion of the Southern Range separates into a northern trend containing the Lizard Springs, Navette, and Mayaro Fields, while the southern trend contains the Beach Field.[28]: 5–9
^Hart, Marie (1972) [1965].The New Trinidad and Tobago: A Descriptive Account of the Geography and History of Trinidad and Tobago. London and Glasgow: Collins. p. 13.
Bane, S.C.; Chanpong, R.R. (1980). "Geology and Development of the Teak Oil Field, Trinidad, West Indies". inGiant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade: 1968–1978. AAPG Memoir 30. Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists.ISBN0891813063.
