Toas Island (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

"Isla de Toas") is a small limestone island in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It is in the north-west of the country, north of

Maracaibo Lake Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo; Anu: Coquivacoa) is a lagoon in northwestern Venezuela, the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on Earth, formed 36 million years ago in the Andes Mountains. The fault in the northern sec ...

, 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 Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It ...

Geography and geology

Toas island is located to the south of San Carlos peninsula (western section of Maracaibo Lake sand-bar), and east of

San Rafael del Moján San Rafael del Moján is a town in Zulia State in Venezuela. Around 40 km from Maracaibo, it is the shire town A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use ...

, a small town on the west coast of the lake. Toas island has a surface area of {{convert, 3, km², 0, abbr=off. There are the

saline Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...

ponds called "El Toro" and "Aracho", a mine of sulphurous

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

, and several

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

caves which have been exploited since Spanish colonial times. Also exploited by the Spanish are

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

caves in the southern area, and a small

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mine. The abundance of limestone has helped the development of a small

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

industry.

Inhabitants

El Toro (Zulia) El Toro, Spanish for "the bull", may refer to: Geography * El Toro (Mallorca), a neighbourhood in the municipality of Calvià on the island of Mallorca * El Toro, Castellón, a town in Castellón, Spain * El Toro (Jujuy), a rural municipality and ...

, 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.

Geography and geology

Inhabitants

See also