The Columbus Channel or Serpent's Mouth (), is a

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

lying between Icacos Point in southwest

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

and the north coast of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. It leads from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the

Gulf of Paria The Gulf of Paria ( ; ) is a shallow ( 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 at its narrowest and at its widest points. T ...

. The channel is about wide at its narrowest point.

History

The passage was named by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage.

References

Gulf of Paria Straits of Venezuela Bodies of water of Trinidad and Tobago International straits Trinidad and Tobago–Venezuela border {{Trinidad-geo-stub