page_title: Main Ridge, Tobago
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Main Ridge, Tobago / Geography
caption_attribution_description: View of Charlotteville village in Tobago from Fort Campbelton
context_page_description: Main Ridge is the main mountainous ridge on the island of Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago. It is a 29-kilometre chain of hills which runs from southwest to northeast between the Caribbean Sea and the Southern Tobago fault system and reaches a maximum height of 572 m. The Main Ridge Forest Reserve, which was legally established in 1776, is one of the oldest protected areas in the world. It is a popular site for birdwatching and ecotourism. Main Ridge provides important habitat for native plants and animals, including several species endemic to Tobago.
context_section_description: Main Ridge forms the mountainous backbone of the island of Tobago, which is the smaller and more northern of the two main islands that make up the southern Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The chain of hills is 29 km (18 mi) long and runs from the southwest to the northeast, roughly parallel to the orientation of the island. Main Ridge reaches an elevation of 572 metres (1,877 ft) above sea level at Centre Hill, but lacks any well-defined peaks. To the northwest it is bounded by the Caribbean Sea and by the Southern Tobago fault system to the southeast.
  Rainfall averages about 2,800 millimetres (110 in) per year. Most streams run along oblique-slip faults with a northwest orientation. Major streams draining the Main Ridge include the Coffee, Hillsborough, Goldsborough, and Queens Rivers. Streams which drain to the northwest are short and steep, while those which drain to the southeast are longer, with better-developed courses. Waterfalls, including the Argylle Waterfall (Tobago's highest) occur at major transitions between rock types. The northeastern slopes are steeper than the southwestern ones and are among the most landslide-prone parts of the island.
caption: The hills of the Main Ridge meet the sea along Tobago's north coast.
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