Geography of Jamaica

source: CIA World Fact Book 1997

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 77 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

• total: 10,990 sq km
• land: 10,830 sq km
• water: 160 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,022 km

• measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
• continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
• exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

• lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
• highest point : Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone

• arable land : 14%
• permanent crops: 6%
• permanent pastures: 24%
• forests and woodland: 17%
• other: 39% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)

Environment - current issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions

• party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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