Toas island

Toas
Geography
Location Maracaibo Lake, Caribbean Sea
Coordinates 10°57′30″N 71°38′50″W / 10.95833°N 71.64722°W / 10.95833; -71.64722
Area 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi)
Administration
State Zulia

Toas Island (in Spanish "Isla de Toas") is a small limestone island in Venezuela. It is in the north-west of the country, north of Maracaibo Lake, just southwest of Zapara island and to the south of San Carlos peninsula, forming part of the "Barra del Lago de Maracaibo". Administratively it falls under the jurisdiction of Almirante Padilla Municipality in the state of Zulia.

Geography and geology

Toas island is located 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) to the south of San Carlos peninsula (western section of Maracaibo Lake sand-bar), and 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) east of San Rafael del Moján, a small town on the west coast of the lake.

Toas island has a surface area of 3 square kilometres (1 square mile). There are the saline ponds called "El Toro" and "Aracho", a mine of sulphurous lignite, and several limestone caves which have been exploited since Spanish colonial times. Also exploited by the Spanish are clay caves in the southern area, and a small copper mine. The abundance of limestone has helped the development of a small cement industry.

Inhabitants

El Toro (Zulia), a fishing village, is located on the island, which is also the capital of the Almirante Padilla Municipality. It has a dock in the northern side, available to ships of middle size. The small town has also a church and various shops located in a typical Spanish square, the Plaza Bolivar.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.