Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. Though geographically part of the South American continent, from a socio-economic standpoint it is often referred to as the southernmost island in the Caribbean. With an area of , it is also the fifth largest in the West Indies. The original name for the island in the Arawaks' language was "Iëre" which meant "Land of the Hummingbird". Christopher Columbus renamed it "La Isla de la
Endemic flora of Trinidad and Tobago rate of endemism, probably as a result of its geological history. The islands of Trinidad and Tobago lie on the South American continental shelf, and were both connected to the mainland during the Pleistocene. Tobago was separated from the mainland about 13,000 years ago; Trinidad was connected until more recently, and may only have become separated about 1,500 years ago. The flora of Trinidad and Tobago has been estimated to include about 2,500 vascular plant species. Although historically as many as 222 species were thought to be endemic, a study by Veerle Van den Eynden and colleagues at the University