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
Famous quotes containing the words key and/or facts:
“The word “forbearance” is the key to a happy home.”
—Chinese proverb.
“Now what I want is facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
Related Phrases
Related Words