Jamaica Essays - Parishes Of Jamaica, Jamaican Maroons,

Jamaica The island of Jamaica is the third largest Caribbean island. It is in a group of islands called the greater antilles. It has an area of 10 991 km squared or 4 244 sq. miles. Jamaica spans 230 km east to west and from 80-36 from north to south. It is third only to Cuba, which is the largest, and Hispaniola which is the second largest island. Jamaica lies in the Caribbean sea which is a part of the much larger Atlantic ocean. The island is 960 km south of Florida, 160 km southwest of Haiti, and 140 km south of Cuba. Jamaica is mainly a mountainous island but there are 320 km of fine sandy beaches, swamps, moist fern- forests, sprawling open plains, plateaus, rushing rivers, and magnificent waterfalls. The Blue Mountains are the highest mountains in Jamaica and Blue Mountain Peak which is the highest peak in Jamaica rises to 2256 m or 7 402 feet. They are made up primarily of limestone. Farther to the west in the cockpit country the limestone has eroded over many years to form large depressions, narrow valleys, underground caverns and rivers. Most of the surface rivers are short, swift flowing and descend quickly to the coast and consist of a series of rapids and waterfalls. The island is ringed by plains separated by mountain and sea. The country is divided into three counties. They are Cornwall to the west, Middlesex is central, and Surrey is to the east. Middlesex is the largest county. Jamaica is also divided into 14 parishes which are basically like provinces or states. The parishes are Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland, St. Mary, St. Ann, Trelawny, St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon, and St. Catherine. Jamaica is mainly a tropical climate. During the course of the year, Jamaica has no real winter whatsoever. The average yearly temperature ranges from 27 degrees celsius to 32 degrees celsius. It is cooler in hills, around 20 to 25 degrees and it is known to dip below 10 degrees in the blue mountains. Although it is hot in the day, light ocean breezes result in making the island more comfortable in the day and cooler breezes blow down from the Blue Mountains at night. Rain falls in Jamaica 12 months of the year because it is a rainy tropical climate. The average rainfall is 196 cm per annum. The main months for raining, however, are May to June and September to October. The major differences in elevation cause the rain to fall almost 600 cm per annum on the mountains and only 89 cm on the southeast coast. Hurricanes can strike anytime between June and October. One of the main hurricanes to hit Jamaica was hurricane Hugo in 1989 which badly damaged the country. The vegetation in Jamaica is exceptionally varied. This is mainly because of the islands varied rainfall, soil, elevations, and climate. Many of the plants which now thrive in Jamaica's rich soil have been introduced from other countries in colonial times. There are bamboo forests in the northern and northeastern areas. Also, rosewood, mahogany, ebony, and other species of wood which live throughout the island. Drought resistant plants live in the dry southeastern part of Jamaica. Sections of the plateau are heavily forested savannas or grasslands. The majority of the palm trees are in the southwest part of the island. The countryside is often covered by rampant growths of poinsettia, hibiscus, poinciana, oleander, and bougainvillaea. There are many products which are grown in Jamaica. Some of the produce raised are bananas, sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, coconut, pimento, ackee, nutmeg, & breadfruit. Jamaica has many animals although it boasts only one native mammal, the coney, which is a wild rabbit. The mongoose is large rodent originating from india. It was introduced to Jamaica in 1872 to control the problem of snakes and rats in the cane fields and has done an adequate job since then. Most of the snakes have disappeared from Jamaica except for a few non poisonous ones which look more like worms than snakes. In Jamaica, as well as many other caribbean islands there are an abundant population of small harmless lizards. There are over 200 species on the island. Crocodiles are also numerous on the south coast swamp areas. In the past, Jamaica's economy was generally based on agriculture. The dependency was on a few staple crops, primarily sugar and bananas. New economic development began with earnest in and around the 1950's. Bauxite mining began in 1952 and