The Gulf of Paria (Golfo de Paria in Spanish) is a shallow inland sea between the island of Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) and the east coast of Venezuela. This sheltered body of water is considered to be one of the best natural harbours on the Atlantic coast of the Americas. It was originally named Golfo de la Ballena (the Gulf of the Whale) by Columbus, but the 19th Century whaling industry eliminated whales from the area and populations have never recovered. Trinidad (Spanish, Trinity) is the largest of the 23 islands which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ... Map of the Americas by Jonghe, c. ... Columbus is a latinized version of the Italian surname Colombo, which means Dove. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales. ...

The Gulf of Paria is connected to the Caribbean Sea to the north through the Bocas del Dragón (or Dragons' Mouth) between the Paria Peninsula of Venezuela and the Chaguaramas Peninsula, and to the Columbus Channel to the south through the Boca del Serpiente (Serpent's Mouth) between the Cedros Peninsula and the Orinoco Delta. Map of Central America and the Caribbean The Caribbean Sea is a tropical body of water adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. ... The Bocas del Dragón (Dragons Mouth) is the name of the series of straights separating the Gulf of Paria from the Caribbean Sea. ... Paros, or Paro, an island in the Aegean Sea, one of the largest of the group of the Cyclades. ... Chaguaramas lies in the North West Peninsula of Trinidad west of Port-of-Spain; the name if often applied to the entire peninsula, but is sometimes used to refer to the most developed area. ... The Columbus Channel is the name of the narrow body of water between the south coast of the island of Trinidad and the Venezuelan mainland. ... The Serpents Mouth is a straight lying between Icacos Point in southwest Trinidad and Tobago and to north coast of Venezuela. ... There are parishes that have the name Cedros (Portuguese and Spanish for cedar) in the Portuguese territory of the Azores: Cedros, a parish in the district of Horta Cedros, a parish in the district of Santa Cruz das Flores Cedros, a mexican island in the state of Baja California. ... With a length of 2,141 km, the Orinoco is one of the largest rivers of South America. ...

The Gulf of Paria is a brackish water body - wet season salinities are below 23 ppt (parts per thousand). The extensive mangroves along the Venezuelan and Trinidadian coastlines are important wildlife habitat and probably play a crucial role in regional fisheries. The Gulf itself is an important fishery. Major ports include the Port of Port of Spain and the Port of Point Lisas in Trinidad and the Port of Pedernales in Venezuela. The wet season and the rainy season are terms used to describe seasons in which the average rainfall in a region is significantly increased. ... Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. ... Above and below water view at the edge of the mangal Mangrove are woody trees or shrubs that grow in coastal habitats or mangal (Hogarth, 1999), for which the term mangrove swamp also would apply. ... Port-of-Spain, population 49,000 (metro: 300,000) (2000), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest city. ... Point Lisas is the site of the Point Lisas Industrial Estate and the Port of Point Lisas, both of which are managed by Plipdeco (the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Company). ...