Paria, Gulf of

Inlet of the Caribbean Sea, between Venezuela and Trinidad.

Extending about 100 mi (160 km) from east to west and 40 mi (65 km) from north to south, it is linked with the Caribbean to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Its ports, including Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, handle shipments of petroleum, iron ore, and agricultural products. In 1498, on his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus probably first sighted South America when he sailed into the gulf.

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▪ gulf, South America

      inlet of the Caribbean Sea, lying between the Venezuelan coast (including the mountainous Paria Peninsula) and Trinidad. Extending about 100 miles (160 km) east-west and 40 miles (65 km) north-south, it is linked with the Caribbean to the north by the strait called the Dragon's Mouths (Dragons Mouths) and with the Atlantic to the south by the Serpent's Mouth (both roughly 10 miles [16 km] wide). It receives the San Juan River and several arms of the Orinoco River delta, including the Caño Mánamo. Ports along the gulf, including San Fernando and Port of Spain (Trinidad) and Güiria, Irapa, and Pedernales (Venezuela), handle shipments of petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lumber, and agricultural products. Christopher Columbus (Columbus, Christopher), on his third voyage (1498), probably first sighted South America when he sailed into the Gulf of Paria.

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