Geography

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean and lies 145 kilometres south of Cuba and 160 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. It is about half the size of Wales, and just slightly smaller than Northern Ireland.

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, 51 kilometres from Morant Point, the easternmost point of mainland Jamaica.

The island is home to the Blue Mountains inland and is surrounded by a narrow coastal plain. Most major towns and both cities are located on the coast. Chief towns include the capital city Kingston, Spanish Town, Mandeville, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio and the city of Montego Bay.

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.

The highest area is that of the Blue Mountains. 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 km, the crest of the ridge exceeds 1,800 m. The highest point is Blue Mountain Peak at 2,256 m. The Blue Mountains rise to these elevations from the coastal plain in the space of about 16 km, 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 m. 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 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.

The Cockpit Country is pockmarked with steep-sided hollows, as much as 120 m 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 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, 80 km long and 32 km 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 m straight to the sea. In the southwest, broad plains stretch inland for a number of kilometres. The Black River courses 70 km 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 600 km along a sandbar at Negril.

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.

Facts and Figures

• Area:
  • Total: 10,990 sq km
  • Land: 10,830 sq km
  • Water: 160 sq km
• Land Boundaries: None
• Coastline: 1,022 km
• Maritime Claims:
  • Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  • Exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km)
  • Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles
• Climate: Tropical Marine; hot, humid; temperate interior
• Terrain: Mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plains
• Elevation Extremes:
  • Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  • Highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
• Natural Resources:
  • Bauxite
  • Gypsum
  • Limestone
• Land Use:
  • Arable land: 14%
  • Permanent crops: 6%
  • Permanent pastures: 24%
  • Forests and woodland: 17%
  • Other: 39%
• Irrigated Land: 350 sq km
• Natural Hazards: Hurricanes (especially July to November)
• Environmental Issues
  • Heavy rates of deforestation
  • Coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills
  • Damage to coral reefs
  • Air pollution in Kingston from vehicle emissions