NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Geography of Jamaica

Jamaica lies 145 kilometres south of Cuba and 190 kilometres west of Haiti. Its capital city, Kingston, is about 920 kilometres southeast of Miami. At its greatest extent, Jamaica is 235 kilometres long, and it varies between 35 and 82 kilometres wide. With an area of 10,911 square kilometres, Jamaica is the largest island of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the third largest of the Greater Antilles, after Cuba and Hispaniola. Pedro Bank, an area of shallow seas, with a number of cays (low islands or reefs), extending generally east to west for over 160 kilometres, lies southwest of Jamaica. To the southeast lie the Morant Cays, fifty-one kilometres from Morant Point, the easternmost point of mainland Jamaica. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The City of Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... The Greater Antilles, an island group in the Caribbean Sea, are part of the Antilles. ... Early map of Hispaniola The island of Hispaniola (from Spanish, La EspaÃ±ola) is the second-largest island of the Antilles, lying between the islands of Cuba to the west, and Puerto Rico to the east. ... Pedro Bank is a large bank of sand and coral, partially covered with seagrass, about 80 km south and southwest of Jamaica, rising steeply from a seabed of 800 meters depth. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Morant Cays is an offshore island group 51 km SSE of Morant Point, Jamaica. ... Morant Point is the easternmost point of the mainland of Jamaica. ...

Geology and landforms

Jamaica and the other islands of the Antilles evolved from an arc of ancient volcanoes that rose from the sea millions of years ago. During periods of submersion, thick layers of limestone were laid down over the old igneous and metamorphic rock. In many places, the limestone is thousands of feet thick. The country can be divided into three landform regions: the eastern mountains, the central valleys and plateaus, and the coastal plains. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 565 pixelsFull resolution (2039 Ã— 1439 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 565 pixelsFull resolution (2039 Ã— 1439 pixel, file size: 1. ...

The highest area is that of the Blue Mountains (Jamaica). These eastern mountains are formed by a central ridge of metamorphic rock running northwest to southeast from which many long spurs jut to the north and south. For a distance of over 3 kilometers, the crest of the ridge exceeds 1,800 meters. The highest point is Blue Mountain Peak at 2,256 meters. The Blue Mountains rise to these elevations from the coastal plain in the space of about sixteen kilometers, thus producing one of the steepest general gradients in the world. In this part of the country, the old metamorphic rock reveals itself through the surrounding limestone. To the north of the Blue Mountains lies the strongly tilted limestone plateau forming the John Crow Mountains. This range rises to elevations of over 1,000 meters. To the west, in the central part of the country, are two high rolling plateaus: the Dry Harbour Mountains to the north and the Manchester Plateau to the south. Between the two, the land is rugged and here, also, the limestone layers are broken by the older rocks. Streams that rise in the region flow outward and sink soon after reaching the limestone layers. The Blue Mountains are a mountainous region of Jamaica. ... The John Crow Mountains are a range of mountains in Jamaica. ... The Dry Harbour Mountains are a range of mountains in north central Jamaica. ...

The limestone plateau covers two-thirds of the country, so that karst formations dominate the island. Karst is formed by the erosion of the limestone in solution. Sinkholes, caves and caverns, disappearing streams, hummocky hills, and terra rosa (residual red) soils in the valleys are distinguishing features of a karst landscape; all these are present in Jamaica. To the west of the mountains is the rugged terrain of the Cockpit Country, one of the world's most dramatic examples of karst topography. Karst topography occurs when a landscape is marked by underground drainage patterns. ...

The Cockpit Country is pockmarked with steep-sided hollows, as much as 120 meters deep in places, which are separated by conical hills and ridges. On the north, the main defining feature is the fault-based "Escarpment", a long ridge that extends from Flagstaff in the west, through Windsor in the centre, to Campbells and the start of the Barbecue Bottom Road (B10). The Barbecue Bottom Road, which runs north-south, high along the side of a deep, fault-based valley in the east, is the only drivable route across the Cockpit Country. However, there are two old, historical trails that cross further west, the Troy Trail, and the Quick Step Trail, both of which are seldom used as of 2006 and difficult to find. In the southwest, near Quick Step, is the district known as the "Land of Look Behind," so named because Spanish horsemen venturing into this region of hostile runaway slaves were said to have ridden two to a mount, one rider facing to the rear to keep a precautionary watch. Where the ridges between sinkholes in the plateau area have dissolved, flat-bottomed basins or valleys have been formed that are filled with terra rosa soils, some of the most productive on the island. The largest basin is the Vale of Clarendon, eighty kilometers long and thirty-two kilometers wide. Queen of Spains Valley, Nassau Valley, and Cave Valley were formed by the same process.

Coasts

The coastline of Jamaica is one of many contrasts. The northeast shore is severely eroded by the ocean. There are many small inlets in the rugged coastline, but no coastal plain of any extent. A narrow strip of plains along the northern coast offers calm seas and white sand beaches. Behind the beaches is a flat raised plain of uplifted coral reef.

The southern coast has small stretches of plains lined by black sand beaches. These are backed by cliffs of limestone where the plateaus end. In many stretches with no coastal plain, the cliffs drop 300 meters straight to the sea. In the southwest, broad plains stretch inland for a number of kilometers. The Black River courses seventy kilometers through the largest of these plains. The swamplands of the Great Morass and the Upper Morass fill much of the plains. The western coastline contains the island's finest beaches, stretching for more than six-hundred kilometers along a sandbar at Negril. Soccer at sunset on Negrils famous white sand beach Negril is a large beach resort located across parts of two Jamaican parishes, Westmoreland and Hanover. ...

Climate

Two types of climate are found on Jamaica. An upland tropical climate prevails on the windward side of the mountains, whereas a semiarid climate predominates on the leeward side. Warm trade winds from the east and northeast bring rainfall throughout the year. The rainfall is heaviest from May to October, with peaks in those two months. The average rainfall is 196 centimetres per year. Rainfall is much greater in the mountain areas facing the north and east, however. Where the higher elevations of the John Crow Mountains and the Blue Mountains catch the rain from the moisture-laden winds, rainfall exceeds 508 centimetres per year. Since the southwestern half of the island lies in the rain shadow of the mountains, it has a semiarid climate and receives fewer than 76 centimetres of rainfall annually. For other uses, see May (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see October (disambiguation). ...

Temperatures are fairly constant throughout the year, averaging 25 °C to 30 °C in the lowlands and 15 °C to 22 °C at higher elevations. Temperatures may dip to below 10 °C at the peaks of the Blue Mountains. The island receives, in addition to the northeast trade winds, refreshing onshore breezes during the day and cooling offshore breezes at night. These are known on Jamaica as the "Doctor Breeze" and the "Undertaker's Breeze," respectively.

Jamaica lies in the Atlantic hurricane belt; as a result, the island sometimes experiences significant storm damage. Powerful hurricanes which have hit the island directly causing death and destruction include Hurricane Charlie in 1951 and Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Several other powerful hurricanes have passed near to the island with damaging effects. In 1980, for example, Hurricane Allen destroyed nearly all Jamaica's banana crop. In recent years, Hurricane Ivan (2004) swept past the island causing heavy damage and a number of deaths; in 2005, Hurricanes Dennis and Emily brought heavy rains to the island. A Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Dean, caused some deaths and heavy damage to Jamaica in August 2007. Hurricane Charlie was a strong Category 4 hurricane in the 1951 Atlantic hurricane season, causing one of Jamaicas worst hurricane disasters. ... Hurricane Gilbert is the second most intense hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic Basin. ... Hurricane Allen was the first hurricane given a male name and the strongest hurricane of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season. ... For other storms of the same name, see Hurricane Ivan (disambiguation). ... Lowest pressure 930 mbar (hPa; 27. ... Lowest pressure 929 mbar (hPa; 27. ... Lowest pressure 906 mbar (hPa; 26. ...

Vegetation

Although most of Jamaica's native vegetation has been stripped in order to make room for cultivation, some areas have been left virtually undisturbed since the time of Columbus. Indigenous vegetation can be found along the northern coast from Rio Bueno to Discovery Bay, in the highest parts of the Blue Mountains, and in the heart of the Cockpit Country. Christopher Columbus (1451 â€“ May 20, 1506) was a navigator and maritime explorer credited as the discoverer of the Americas. ... Discovery Bay is a town in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica with several historic sites in its vicinity. ...

Key facts

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba â€œWest Indianâ€ redirects here. ... Map of Central America and the Caribbean The Caribbean Sea (pronounced or ) is a tropical sea in the Western Hemisphere, part of the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. ...

For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol kmÂ², is a decimal multiple of SI unit of surface area square metre, one of the SI derived units. ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Largest metro area Hartford Area Ranked 48th - Total 5,543[2] sq mi (14,356 kmÂ²) - Width 70 miles (113 km) - Length 110 miles (177 km) - % water 12. ... For the city in Jamaica, see Black River, Jamaica. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A noontime scene from the Philippines on a day when the Sun is almost directly overhead. ... Blue Mountain Peak is the highest mountain in Jamaica at 2,256 metres (7,402 feets). ... Bauxite with penny Bauxite with core of unweathered rock Bauxite is an aluminium ore. ... It has been suggested that Selenite be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef, in this case the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. ... The City of Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica. ... Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ... UNFCCC logo. ... Earth as seen by Apollo 17 The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty on global warming. ... Ship stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... Admiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. ... Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention) note - abbreviated as Marine Dumping opened for signature - 29 December 1972 entered into force - 30 August 1975 objective - to control pollution of the sea by dumping and to encourage regional agreements supplementary to the Convention... opened for signature - 29 April 1958 entered into force - 20 March 1966 objective - to solve through international cooperation the problems involved in the conservation of living resources of the high seas, considering that because of the development of modern technology some of these resources are in danger of being overexploited... The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes and was opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996, when it was signed by 71 States, including the five nuclear weapon states at the time (which did not... Ship pollution is the pollution of water by shipping! It is a problem that has been accelerating as trade has become increasingly globalized. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... Cayman Trench, also called Bartlett Deep, or Bartlett Trough, is a submarine trench on the floor of the western Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. ... The Jamaica Channel is a strait separating the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola, in the Caribbean Sea. ... Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ...

See also

Map of Jamaica This is a list of cities and towns in Jamaica: Alligator Pond Black River Clarendon Park Discovery Bay Falmouth Kingston Manchester Mandeville May Pen Montego Bay Morant Bay Negril Ocho Rios Port Antonio Port Esquivel Portmore Richmond Rocky Point Spanish Town Saint Ann Saint Mary See also...

Cities

The City of Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica. ... Doctors Cave Beach Club is a popular tourist destination in Montego Bay Montego Bay is a city in Jamaica that contains Jamaicas largest airport, Sangster International Airport. ... Portmore is a coastal city in southern Jamaica, near Kingston. ...

Towns

Black River is the city of St. ... Boscobel is located in St. ... Discovery Bay is a town in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica with several historic sites in its vicinity. ... May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. ... Mandeville is the capital of Manchester Parish, Jamaica. ... Morant Bay is a town in southeastern Jamaica. ... Soccer at sunset on Negrils famous white sand beach Negril is a large beach resort located across parts of two Jamaican parishes, Westmoreland and Hanover. ... View of Ocho Rios, taken from Shaw Park Gardens - 2006 Ocho Rios is a town on the northern coast of Jamaica, located in the parish of Saint Ann. ... Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about 100 km from Kingston. ... For other uses, see Spanish Town (disambiguation). ...

References

Category: Geography of Jamaica The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA), freely available for use by researchers. ... The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The World Factbook 2007 (government edition) cover. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Global view centred on North America North America is the third largest continent (1990 est. ... This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states. ... This article describes the geography of Antigua and Barbuda. ... Political map of Costa Rica. ... a beach in the Barahona province This article details the geography of the Dominican Republic. ... Map of El Salvador Shaded relief map of El Salvador Satellite image of El Salvador in April 2002 Economic activity of El Salvador, 1980 Vegetation and land use, 1980 The geography of El Salvador is unique among the nations of Central America. ... Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago Geographic coordinates: 17 20 N, 62 45 W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: total: 261 km² (Saint Kitts 168 km²; Nevis 93 km²) land: 261 km² water... Saint Lucia. ... Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago Geographic coordinates: 13Â°15â€² N 61Â°12â€² W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: total: 389 kmÂ² (Saint Vincent 344 kmÂ²) land: 389 kmÂ² water: 0 kmÂ² Area - comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC Land... Map of Trinidad and Tobago Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela Geographic coordinates: 11Â°00â€² N 61Â°00â€² W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: total: 5,128 sq km land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km... The United States is a nation in the Western Hemisphere. ... Download high resolution version (675x894, 685 KB)From http://cia. ... A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State. ... Types of administrative and/or political territories include: A legally administered territory, which is a non-sovereign geographic area that has come under the authority of another government. ... Information from The World Factbook See also: British Virgin Islands Categories: British Virgin Islands | Geography by country ... Location: Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras Geographic coordinates: 19 30 N, 80 30 W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: total: 259 km² land: 259 km² water: 0 km² Area - comparative: 1. ... Navassa Island map from The World Factbook Navassa Island (French: La Navase, Haitian KreyÃ²l: Lanavaz) is a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea. ... The Netherlands Antilles are in the Caribbean Sea. ... Location: Image of Puerto Rico taken by NASA. Caribbean, archipelago between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 66 30 W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: Total: 9,104 km² Land: 8,959 km² Water: 145... Location: Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada) Geographic coordinates: 46 50 N, 56 20 W Map references: North America Area: total: 242 km² land: 242 km² water: 0 km² note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups Area... The Turks and Caicos Islands lie in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Bahamas and north of Haiti. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require rewriting and/or reformatting. ... A transcontinental nation is a country belonging to more than one continent. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

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