San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago

• City

San Fernando, officially the City Corporation of San Fernando, is the second most populous city in Trinidad and Tobago, after Chaguanas. It occupies 18 km² and is located in the southwestern part of the island of Trinidad. It is bounded to the north by the Guaracara River, the south by the Oropouche River, the east by the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, and the west by the Gulf of Paria. The former borough was elevated to the status of a city corporation on November 18, 1988. The motto of San Fernando is: "Sanitas Fortis" - In a Healthy Environment We Will Find Strength. Many local Trinidadians refer to the city with the shortened name "Sando." San Fernando is called Trinidad and Tobago's "industrial capital" because of its proximity to the Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery and many other petrochemical, LNG, iron and steel and aluminium smelters in places such as Point Lisas, Point Fortin, and La Brea.HistoryThe Amerindians called the area Anaparima, which has been translated as either "single hill" or "without water". A single hill, San Fernando Hill, rises from the centre of the city. A town named San Fernando de Naparima was established by Spanish Governor Don José Maria Chacón in 1784, in honour of the heir to Spanish crown. With time, the "de Naparima" was dropped.