Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic republic in the southern Caribbean between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela. They are southeasterly islands of the Lesser Antilles, Monos, Huevos, Gaspar Grande (or Gasparee), Little Tobago, and St. Giles Island. Trinidad is off the northeast coast of Venezuela and south of the Grenadines. The island measures in area (comprising 93.0% of the country's total area) with an average length of and an average width of . The island appears rectangular in shape with three projecting peninsular corners. Tobago is northeast of Trinidad and measures about in area, or 5.8% of the country's area, in length and at its greatest width. The island is cigar-shaped in appearance, with a northeast–southwest alignment. Physical geography Trinidad is traversed by three distinct mountain ranges that are a continuation of the Venezuelan coastal cordillera. The Northern Range, an outlier of the Andes Mountains of Venezuela, consists of rugged hills that parallel the coast. This range rises into two peaks. The highest, El Cerro del Aripo, is high; the other, El Tucuche, reaches . The Central Range extends diagonally across the island and is a low-lying range with swampy areas rising to rolling hills; its maximum elevation is . The Caroni Plain, composed of alluvial sediment, extends southward, separating the Northern Range and Central Range. The Southern Range consists of a broken line of hills with a maximum elevation of . There are numerous rivers and streams on the island of Trinidad; the most significant are the Ortoire River, long, which extends eastward into the Atlantic, and the -long Caroni River, reaching westward into the Gulf of Paria. Most of the soils of Trinidad are fertile, with the exception of the sandy and unstable terrain found in the southern part of the island. Tobago is mountainous and dominated by the Main Ridge, which is long with elevations up to 550 meters. There are deep, fertile valleys running north and south of the Main Ridge. The southwestern tip of the island has a coral platform. Although Tobago is volcanic in origin, there are no active volcanoes. Forestation covers 43% of the island. There are numerous rivers and streams, but flooding and erosion are less severe than in Trinidad. The coastline is indented with numerous bays, beaches, and narrow coastal plains. Tobago has several small satellite islands. The largest of these, Little Tobago, is starfish