Trinidad and Tobago Geography - 2024

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

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

362 km

Maritime claims

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

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

Climate

tropical; rainy season (June to December)

Terrain

mostly plains with some hills and low mountains

Elevation

highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 83 m

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, asphalt

Land use

agricultural land: 10.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 4.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 4.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 1.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 44% (2018 est.)

other: 45.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

70 sq km (2012)

Population distribution

population on Trinidad is concentrated in the western half of the island, on Tobago in the southern half

Natural hazards

outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms

Geography - note

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