Ad
related to: where is jamaica located in north americatripadvisor.com has been visited by 1M+ users in the past month
Find Discounts on the Best Hotels in Jamaica. Tripadvisor Helps You Spend Less. Find Jamaica - Search for amazing hotel deals and save money today.
Search results
Aug 2, 2023 · Jamaica is a Caribbean island nation in the Greater Antilles archipelago, south of Cuba and west of Hispaniola. It is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and has a diverse geography, climate, and culture.
Jamaica has two cities, the first being Kingston, the capital city and centre of business, located on the south coast and the second being Montego Bay, one of the best known cities in the Caribbean for tourism, located on the north coast.
Jan 14, 2023 · Where is Jamaica Located? Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of Cuba and 191 kilometers (119 miles) west of the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located.
- Overview
- Relief
- Drainage and soils
Jamaica, island country of the West Indies. It is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea, after Cuba and Hispaniola. Jamaica is about 146 miles (235 km) long and varies from 22 to 51 miles (35 to 82 km) wide. It is situated some 100 miles (160 km) west of Haiti, 90 miles (150 km) south of Cuba, and 390 miles (630 km) northeast of the nearest point on the mainland, Cape Gracias a Dios, on the Caribbean coast of Central America. The national capital is Kingston.
Christopher Columbus, who first sighted the island in 1494, called it Santiago, but the original indigenous name of Jamaica, or Xaymaca, has persisted. Columbus considered it to be “the fairest isle that eyes have beheld,” and many travelers still regard it as one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. The island’s various Spanish, French, and English place-names are remnants of its colonial history. The great majority of its people are of African ancestry, the descendants of slaves brought by European colonists. Jamaica became independent from the United Kingdom in 1962 but remains a member of the Commonwealth.
Interior mountains and plateaus cover much of Jamaica’s length, and nearly half of the island’s surface is more than 1,000 feet (300 metres) above sea level. The most rugged topography and highest elevations are in the east, where the Blue Mountains rise to 7,402 feet (2,256 metres) at Blue Mountain Peak, the island’s highest point. Karst (limeston...
Numerous rivers and streams issue from the central highlands, but many disappear intermittently into karst sinkholes and caves. Few rivers are navigable for any great distance, because of their rapid descent from the mountains. The Rio Minho in central Jamaica is the longest river, flowing for some 60 miles (100 km) from the Dry Harbour Mountains to Carlisle Bay. The Black River in the west and the Rio Cobre near Kingston are each longer than 30 miles (50 km).
Britannica Quiz
Guess the Country by Its Neighbors Quiz
More than half of the island’s surface is covered with white limestone, beneath which are yellow limestone, older metamorphic rocks (compact rocks formed by heat and pressure), and igneous rocks (formed by the cooling of molten material). The shallow soils of many upland areas are particularly susceptible to erosion. Alluvial soils on the coastal plains chiefly consist of deep loam and clay, and residual clays cover the valley floors.
Jun 2, 2024 · From a geographical standpoint, Jamaica is part of North America, just like all the islands in the Caribbean Sea. As an island country, Jamaica is separated from the Floridian coast of North America by over 700 miles.
Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. The island country lies approximately 191 kilometers west of the island of Hispaniola, which contains Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and approximately 965 kilometers from the south coast of Miami, Florida.
Dec 3, 2023 · Jamaica location on the North America map. This map shows where Jamaica is located on the North America map. You may download, print or use the above map for educational, personal and non-commercial purposes. Attribution is required.
