JAMAICA

Geography

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 77 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 10,990 sq km
land: 10,830 sq km
water: 160 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,022 km

Maritime claims:measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

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% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)

Environment - current issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified:none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal


SHOWCASE
FORTS

Ever since the capture of Jamaica by the English from the Spanish in 1655, the need for fortification became immediate because of the...

 

SHOWCASE
COURTHOUSES

The Morant Bay Courthouse, which was destroyed by fire on Monday, February 19, 2007, is an important part of St. Thomas's history.

 

SHOWCASE
HISTORIC SCHOOLS

Built in 1885 of masonry and timber, the Simms building exhibits a combination of Gothic and Georgian features; the projecting...