Gulf of Paria

The Gulf of Paria (/ˈpæriə/ PA-ree-ə;^[1] Spanish: Golfo de Paria) is a 7,800 km² (3,000 sq mi) shallow (180 m 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 15 km at its narrowest and 120 km at its widest points. The tides within the Gulf are semi-diurnal in nature with a range of approximately 1m.^[2] 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 2,940 km² (1,140 sq mi) (37.7%) and Venezuela the remainder (62.3%).^[3]

It was originally named the Gulf of the Whale (Spanish: 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 (Spanish: Golfo Triste).^[4]

In the north, the Gulf is connected to the Caribbean Sea through the Dragons' Mouths (Spanish: 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 (Spanish: Boca de la Serpiente), between the Cedros Peninsula and the Orinoco Delta.