Closer to South America Than Jamaica? Where Trinidad Sits in the Caribbean
Locating Trinidad requires looking past standard Caribbean Sea coordinates and focusing directly on the South American shoreline. The island is bounded roughly between 10°02′ and 10°50′ North latitude, and 60°55′ and 61°56′ West longitude. On maritime navigational charts, its western coastline does not face open ocean; instead, it cradles the Gulf of Paria, a semi-enclosed expanse of calm, low-salinity water caught between the island and the Venezuelan mainland.
Two narrow, treacherous maritime gateways control this passage. To the north lies the Bocas del Dragón (Dragon's Mouths), a series of four channels carving through rocky islets between Trinidad’s northwestern Chaguaramas peninsula and the Paria Peninsula of Venezuela. To the south lies the Boca de la Sierpe (Serpent's Mouth), bridging the short, turbulent strait between Trinidad's southwestern tip and the sprawling wetlands of the Orinoco Delta. The Venezuela maritime border runs right down the middle of these waters, requiring strict binational treaties to govern offshore oil platforms, natural gas reserves, and international shipping channels.
