F ort George Built by the British in 1804, this fort is located in the hills 1,100 feet above the capital city of Port of Spain. This historic fort retains vestiges of its original structure and armaments, but its main attraction is its fine views of Port of Spain, the Gulf of Paria, the west coast of the island, and the nearby Venezuelan highlands. Crude oil or bitumen seeps through a fault line in the sandstone 250 feet below ground, providing an endlessly replenishing pool of bitumen for roads and mastic roofs. The Pitch Lake contains the largest known deposits of natural asphalt in the world. Y ou can walk on the surface of the 115-acre lake, but heavy objects, like cars, sink in minutes.
Tour guides are available throughout the year to show tourists different areas of the lake.
Local legend claims that the lake was created when God punished an entire village for destroying hummingbirds to take their brilliant plumage for decoration. This tour guide informed us that Amerindians were forced into the lake when Spanish conquistadors invaded Trinidad. T his part of the lake is called Elephant Skin because of the way the pitch looks when it is peeled back. In 1595, Sir Walter Raleigh used the lake's pitch to caulk his ships. In recent history, mastodon teeth and other fossils have been recovered from the lake.