Jamaica

As a visitor you probably have never explored and learned anything about Jamaica, but you are not alone ... there are also many Jamaicans who know little about their island, becasue many do not travel far from where they were born. Others just do not take the opportunity to explore their island.

But, I have been fortunate to travel around the entire island ... back roads, side roads, roads that disappear into dirt tracks ... and I have been to parts of Jamaica that seldom get visited by outsiders.

So let me help you to appreciate the many places of interest, and the many attractions that you can enjoy on your journey around Jamaica.

Geography of Jamaica

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean ... 4,213 square miles ... 146 miles from east to west ... and at her widest 51 miles from St Ann's Bay in the north to Portland Point in the south, lying 90 miles south of Cuba, and 118 miles west of Haiti.

A mountain range runs from east to west. The Blue Mountains, at the eastern end, rise to 7,402 feet, and Birch's Hill at the western end a mere 1809 feet, and on a clear morning the views from Blue Mountain Peak are spectacular.

As the sun comes up you can see Cuba, but since you are over a mile and a quarter above sea level the view is more often than not filled with low lying early morning mist.

Nearly half of the island is over 1000ft and the majority of the island's surface is made up of very thick layers of limestone. 

The Blue Mountains are formed by underlying igneous and metamorphic rock protruding through this limestone.

Streams that rise in the mountains sink again when they reach the lower limestone areas, and leaching over the years has resulted in the formation of numerous caves throughout the island, and even underwater caves along the coast.

Few people ... Jamaicans or visitors ... know anything about this interesting and mountainous terrain.