Gulf of Paria

{{Short description|Inland sea between Trinidad and Venezuela}} thumb|The Gulf of Paria between Venezuela and Trinidad

The '''Gulf of Paria''' ({{IPA-cen|ˈ|p|ær|i|ə}} {{respell|PARR|ee|ə}};<ref>{{Cite web|last=TTT Live Online|title=Weather Outlook – Tuesday June 28th 2022|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB_BS7IfxPM&t=179s|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707024317/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB_BS7IfxPM&t=179s|archive-date=2022-07-07|date=2022-06-29|access-date=2022-07-07|website=YouTube}}</ref> {{langx|es|Golfo de Paria}}) is a {{convert|7800|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} shallow ({{convert|180|m|0}} at its deepest) semi-enclosed inland sea located between the island of Trinidad and the east coast of Venezuela. It separates the two countries by as little as {{convert|15|km|mi nmi}} at its narrowest and {{convert|120|km|mi nmi|0}} at its widest points. The tides within the Gulf are semi-diurnal in nature with a range of approximately {{convert|1|m}}.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Hydrographic Data as Indicators of Physical Development on the Trinidad West Coast | url=https://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/athens/papers/wsh2/WSH2_3_Neale.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091819/https://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/athens/papers/wsh2/WSH2_3_Neale.pdf | archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref> The Gulf of Paria is considered to be one of the best natural harbors on the Atlantic coast of the Americas. The jurisdiction of the Gulf of Paria is split between Trinidad and Venezuela with Trinidad having control over approximately {{convert|2940|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} (37.7%) and Venezuela the remainder (62.3%).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/62002.pdf|title=Technical Difficulties}}</ref>

It was originally named the Gulf of the Whale ({{langx|es|Golfo de la Ballena}}) by Christopher Columbus, but the 19th-century whaling industry eliminated whales from the area and populations have never recovered. Cartographic sources of the late 18th century repeatedly refer to it as the Sad Gulf ({{langx|es|Golfo Triste}}).<ref>Mapa de la ysla de Trinidad. Archivo General de Indias. Unidad: Mapas y Planos. Signatura: MP-Venezuela, 185. [http://pares.mcu.es/ Portal de Archivos Españoles]</ref>

thumb|right|Cedros Bay, with the Columbus Channel in the background In the north, the Gulf is connected to the Caribbean Sea through the Dragons' Mouths ({{langx|es|Bocas del Dragón}}) between the Paria Peninsula of Venezuela and the Chaguaramas Peninsula of Trinidad. In the south, the Gulf is connected to the Atlantic through the Columbus Channel, also known as the Serpent's Mouth ({{langx|es|Boca de la Serpiente}}), between the Cedros Peninsula and the Orinoco Delta.

thumb|Panoramic view of Gulf of Paria looking south-east.

== Activity == === Fisheries === {{See also|Fisheries in Trinidad and Tobago|Fisheries in Venezuela}} The Gulf of Paria is a brackish water body – wet season salinities are below 23&nbsp;ppt (parts per thousand) with extensive mangroves along the Venezuelan and Trinidadian coastlines. This body of water is basically a shallow sedimentary basin with a maximum depth of {{convert|30|m|fathom ft|}} and a smooth substratum of fine mud with patches of shell debris and sand (Kenny and Bacon, 1981). These conditions lend themselves to favourable fisheries conditions and the Gulf itself is an important fishery (Heileman and Ramsaroop, 1990). The proximity of the Orinoco Delta to the Gulf suggests that these waters are strongly influenced by fluvial discharges from the Amazon and Orinoco River systems, with the intensity of these discharges varying with the seasons (van Andel and Postma, 1954; Gade, 1961). These rivers are thought to be important effectors of nutrient enhancing upwelling currents on the adjacent continental shelf and sources of primary and secondary productivity for the water around Trinidad, especially in the Gulf (Farbes, 1983). As such, Trinidad supports a more productive and diverse exploitable fish and invertebrate resource base than most of the Eastern Caribbean islands (Agard et al. 1996). The Gulf of Paria is the most important fishing ground for shrimp and finfish in Trinidad.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.ema.co.tt/docs/public/comments/NEC_PLSEIP%20SUPPL%20EIA_APP%20XII_090306.pdf | title=Report on commercial fisheries within the gulf of Paria and the impacts of proposed port devloment activities on fisheries in the Claxton Bay area | access-date=2015-07-29 | archive-date=2015-06-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626192958/http://www.ema.co.tt/docs/public/comments/NEC_PLSEIP%20SUPPL%20EIA_APP%20XII_090306.pdf | url-status=dead}}</ref>

In recent years, Venezuelan pirates have threatened fishermen operating in the region.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Franklin |first1=Jonathan |title=Venezuelan Pirates Rule the Most Lawless Market on Earth |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-01-30/venezuelan-pirates-rule-the-most-lawless-market-on-earth |access-date=26 October 2020 |agency=Bloomberg Businessweek |publisher=Bloomberg |date=30 January 2018}}</ref>

=== Oil and natural gas === {{See also|Energy in Trinidad and Tobago|Energy in Venezuela}} The Gulf of Paria lies entirely within the broad strike-slip plate boundary zone of the southeastern Caribbean. The structure of the Gulf consists of a complex set of transtensional basins superimposed on a fold-and-thrust belt (Serrania del Interior of eastern Venezuela).<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1016/S1874-5997(99)80051-3 | title=Chapter 17 Structure of the Gulf of Paria pull-apart basin (Eastern Venezuela-Trinidad) | journal=Sedimentary Basins of the World | volume=4 | pages=477–494| year=1999 | last1=Flinch | first1=J.F. | last2=Rambaran | first2=V. | last3=Ali | first3=W. | last4=Lisa | first4=V. De | last5=Hernández | first5=G. | last6=Rodrigues | first6=K. | last7=Sams | first7=R. | isbn=9780444826497 }}</ref> The petroleum of Trinidad has been generated by prolific Upper Cretaceous source rocks, time equivalent to the La Luna and Querecual formations in Colombia and Venezuela. These source rocks were then overlain by a thick succession of Paleogene deep-water sediments (shales and deep water sandstones) and shallow marine siliciclastic reservoir rocks. The transpression due to the influence of the Caribbean plate created several sub-basins across the Trinidad area; each having distinctive petroleum systems. The hydrocarbon basins in Trinidad are Southern Basin, Columbus Basin, Carupano Basin, Central Range/Darrien Ridge Basin and the Caroni Basin and Gulf of Paria Pull-apart Basin.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Petroleum Geology | url=http://www.energy.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/petroleum_geo.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305180410/http://www.energy.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/petroleum_geo.pdf | archive-date=2016-03-05}}</ref>

The Caroni Basin is a Cenozoic basin bounded to the north by the El Pilar fault zone and the Northern Range fold-thrust belt and to the south by the Central Range fold-thrust belt. Its stratigraphy features a shallowing section from the Miocene which overlies Palaeocene and Lower Cretaceous deep-water sediments. The Gulf of Paria is the western offshore extension of the Caroni basin. However, its deformation is now extensional due to the right-stepping of the dextral El Pilar fault to the dextral Warm Springs fault. The Los Bajos fault separates the Gulf of Paria from the Southern basin sediments. Natural gas has been discovered in the onshore Caroni basin while in the Gulf of Paria, both oil and gas have been discovered.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.firstmagazine.com/Krishna%20Persad.pdf|title=Krishna Persad}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

In 2021 an oil spill was discovered in the gulf.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/alarm-over-spill-into-the-gulf-of-paria/article_ace62264-f913-11eb-a30f-87a7f9e57526.html|title = Alarm over spill into the Gulf of Paria| date=9 August 2021 }}</ref> Between 2018 and April 2021 there have been 498 reported oil spills on land and at sea. There have been no resulting prosecutions or fines by Trinidad and Tobago authorities.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/13/its-outrageous-trinidadian-fishers-film-half-hearted-oil-spill-clean-up ‘It’s outrageous’: Trinidadian fishers film ‘half-hearted’ oil spill clean-up] The Guardian, 2021</ref>

== Port and logistics == {{Main|List of ports and harbours of the Atlantic Ocean}}

Major ports located within the Gulf of Paria basin include:<ref name="LOCTT">{{Cite web|url=https://service.unece.org/trade/locode/tt.htm|title=UNLOCODE (TT) - TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO|website=service.unece.org}}</ref><ref name="LOCVE">{{Cite web|url=https://service.unece.org/trade/locode/ve.htm|title=UNLOCODE (VE) - VENEZUELA (BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF)|website=service.unece.org}}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" ! style="text-align:left;" | UNLOCODE ! style="text-align:left;" | Port facility name:&nbsp;name ! style="text-align:left;" | Location:&nbsp;served ! style="text-align:left;" | Coordinates ! style="text-align:left;" | Time ! style="text-align:left;" | Notes |- class="sortbottom" ! colspan="5" style="text-align:left; background:#DDDDDD;" id="Trinidad and Tobago side" | -Trinidad and Tobago side- |- | TT CVA || Plipdeco's Port of Point Lisas<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.plipdeco.com/main/|title=Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation - Home|website=www.plipdeco.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pmac-ports.com/full_members/point-lisas-industrial-port-development-corporation-limited-80|title=Port Management Association of the Caribbean|website=www.pmac-ports.com}}</ref> || Couva || {{coord|10.25|N|61.27|W|type:landmark_region:TT|name=Plipdeco's Port of Point Lisas at Couva}}<ref name="LOCTT" /> || UTC-04:00 || |- | TT POS || The Port of Port of Spain<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patnt.com/|title=Home|website=Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago}}</ref> || Port of Spain || {{coord|10.39|N|61.31|W|type:landmark_region:TT|name=Port of Port of Spain}}<ref name="LOCTT" /> || UTC-04:00 || |- | TT SFE || Port of San Fernando || San Fernando || || UTC-04:00 || |- | TT PTF || Port of Point Fortin || Point Fortin || || UTC-04:00 || |- |- class="sortbottom" ! colspan="5" style="text-align:left; background:#DDDDDD;" id="Venezuela side" | -Venezuela side- |- | VE || Port of Capure || Capure, Delta Amacuro state || {{coord|9.98|N|62.255|W|type:landmark_region:VE|name=Port of Capure, VE}} || UTC-04:00 || |- | VE GUI || Port of Guiria || Guiria || {{coord|10.34|N|62.17|W|type:landmark_region:VE|name=Port of Guiria, VE}} || UTC-04:00 || |- | VE || Port of Irapa || Irapa, Mariño Municipality || {{coord|10.57|N|62.582|W|type:landmark_region:VE|name=Port of Irapa, VE}} || UTC+04:00 || |- | VE PDZ || Port of Pedernales || Pedernales, Delta Amacuro state || {{coord|9.58|N|62.14|W|type:landmark_region:VE|name=Port of Pedernales, VE}} || UTC+04:00 || |- |}

In addition Oldendorff Carriers has operated a floating facility consisting of two cranes, which has been operating within Trinidadian waters since 2012, for the purpose of transshipment of iron ore from Santana, Brazil to the Middle and the Far East.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oldendorff.com/reloaders/Trinidad.html|title=OLDENDORFF CARRIERS|website=www.oldendorff.com|access-date=2026-01-03|archive-date=2016-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506215424/http://www.oldendorff.com/reloaders/Trinidad.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== US Naval Base Trinidad == {{Main|Naval Base Trinidad}} During World War II the US Naval Base Trinidad at Chaguaramas played significant roles as the convoy-assembly point transmitting tankers from the Caribbean oil ports across the Atlantic to North Africa and Europe.<ref name="auto">[https://ericwilliams.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/EW14.pdf]</ref> The Gulf of Paria was used by US carriers and airplanes for their final exercises before going to the Pacific Battleground via the Panama Canal. The planes for the Eighth Army in North Africa were ferried through Trinidad and lastly vessels and civilian planes from South America had to stop at Trinidad for clearance to proceed to North America and European destinations. At its peak it had 135,000 troops on the island.

After protests developed in Trinidad and Tobago over the presence of the base, sustained pressure was placed for the base to be removed and closed.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44376139|title="Uncle Sam, We Want Back We Land": Eric Williams and the Anglo-American Controversy over the Chaguaramas Base, 1957-1961|author=MAWBY, SPENCER|year=2012|journal=Diplomatic History|volume=36|issue=1|pages=119-145|via=JSTOR}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> Partial closure was undertaken 1967 and complete closure by 1977.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lifeintrinidad.org/the-return-of-chaguaramas/|title=The Return of Chaguaramas – Life in Trinidad}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2011.01012.x|title=“Uncle Sam, We Want Back We Land”: Eric Williams and the Anglo-American Controversy over the Chaguaramas Base, 1957–1961|first=Spencer|last=Mawby|date=January 3, 2012|journal=Diplomatic History|volume=36|issue=1|pages=119–145|via=Wiley Online Library|doi=10.1111/j.1467-7709.2011.01012.x|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== See also == {{Portal|Trinidad and Tobago|Venezuela|Geography}} * Caribbean South America * Gulf of Paria crossing * Piracy off the coast of Venezuela * Voyages of Christopher Columbus#Third voyage (1498–1500)

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * [https://www.britannica.com/place/Gulf-of-Paria Gulf of Paria | Map, Location, & Facts | Britannica] * [https://www.britannica.com/place/Paria-Peninsula Paria Peninsula | peninsula, Venezuela | Britannica] * {{cite book | author=Anthony, Michael | title=Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago | publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., and London | year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8108-3173-5| author-link=Michael Anthony (author) }} * {{cite web |url=http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/caribbean/publications/babb/babb.htm |title=Tectonics and Sedimentation of the Gulf of Paria and Northern Basin, Trinidad |author=Stephen Babb, PhD |publisher=The University of Texas at Austin |year=1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050802081716/http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/caribbean/publications/babb/babb.htm |archive-date=2005-08-02 |access-date=26 July 2015}}

== External links == {{commons category-inline}} * {{osmrelation-inline|}} * [https://laws.gov.tt/pdf/A4.pdf Submarine Ares of the Gulf of Paria (Annexation) Order 1942], Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs, Gov't. of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

{{Coastal geography}} {{Trinidad and Tobago topics}} {{Venezuela topics}} {{Authority control}} {{coord|10|23|N|62|21|W|display=title|region:VE_type:waterbody_source:GNS-enwiki}}

Category:Gulf of Paria Paria Paria Paria Category:Trinidad and Tobago–Venezuela border Category:Trinidad (island)