Key Facts
- Location
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
- Geographic coordinates
- 18°15′N 77°30′W / 18.25°N 77.5°W / 18.25; -77.5
- Map references
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Area
-
- Total: 10,991 km2 (4,244 sq mi)
- Land: 10,831 km2 (4,182 sq mi)
- Water: 160 km2 (62 sq mi)
- Area – comparative
- (Australia) About 2½ times as big as Kangaroo Island
- (Canada) About twice Prince Edward Island's size
- (UK) About half Wales's size
- (USA) Slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut
- Land boundaries
- 0 km
- Longest River
- Rio Minho (Jamaica) 92.8 km (57.7 mi)
- Coastline
- 1 022 km (635 mi)
- Maritime claims
-
- Measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
- Continental shelf: 200 m depth (656 ft) or to the depth of exploitation
- Exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
- Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
- 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, 2256 metres (7402 ft)
- 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 km2 (140 sq mi) (1993 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Hurricanes (especially July to November)
- Environment—current issues
- Heavy rates of 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, 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
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Jamaica
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