Geography and Demography
Saint Thomas is located at latitude 18°05'N, longitude 76°40'W, to the south of Portland, and the east of St. Andrew. With an area of 742.8 square kilometres (286.8 sq mi), it ranks as Jamaica's ninth largest parish. It is a very mountainous parish, and the ranges include the Port Royal Mountains, stretching from above Newcastle in St Andrew, to Albion in St Thomas; the Queensbury Ridge, between Yallahs and Negro River; and to the extreme south, an isolated ridge called Yallahs Hill, with its highest elevation 2,394 feet (730 m) above sea level. The Blue Mountains form its northern border.
The parish contains large wetland areas, comprising the coastal area between Morant Bay and Hector's River. There are also many cliffs and beaches.
There are three main rivers in the parish; the Yallahs River, 36.9 kilometres (22.9 miles) long, the Morant River, 21.9 kilometres (16.1 miles), and the Plantain Garden River, 34.9 kilometres (21.9 miles) long. The latter is the only one in the island to flow eastward.
The ethnic makeup of Saint Thomas is 88.2% black, 7.6% Asian, 3.2% white, and 1%other.
Read more about this topic: Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica
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