The event that happened during Columbus' third expedition became known from the words of the navigator himself. Christopher Columbus wrote in his diary: “On July 31, a sailor saw from the mast of the admiral's ship a land in the west... that looked like three stacks or three hills.” These three mountains inspired Columbus to the name Trinidad, which means “Trinity” in Spanish. Then the expedition circumnavigated the island from the south and entered the Gulf of Paria, where they discovered the mouth of a mighty river. That is how the Orinoco River was discovered.