Jamaica – the island of the sun – invites you to relax and unwind. There are beautiful white beaches lined with palm trees. Reggea, rum and Rasta- this is Jamaica. The island has a tropical climate, with daytime temperatures averaging around 30 ° C. There may be brief, heavy rain showers.
From Germany Frankfurtor Dusseldorf you can reach Jamaica via the Montego Bay airport. The best way to get to know Jamaica is on a round trip. B. from Montego Bay via Tresure Beach, Kingston, Port Antonio, Ocho Rios and back to Montego Bay. Here you can enjoy the breathtaking nature with orange groves, waterfalls, jungle rivers and wetlands and also take a raft trip on the Rio Basin. The mostly luxurious hotels on the beautiful sandy beaches along the coast of Jamaica invite you to swim longer.
The Rastafari group is firmly connected to Jamaica. In Germany, too, the Rastafarians find followers and imitators. The Rastafari from Jamaica are particularly noticeable because of their head of hair. They style their hair in dreadlocks. The hairstyle has little in common with the actual cultural origins. However, this is an image that is imprinted on the minds of mankind, also because many famous celebrities and personalities have made this hairstyle known all over the world. Hairstyles with dreadlocks came up in the 1930s. The Rastafari are a Christian religious community, but they follow their own way of life. Descendants of African slaves founded this religious community.
Rastafari today is a mixed movement, which is composed of different currents. Actually, the Rastafari strictly reject alcohol and tobacco, but in the modern interpretation one often has the impression that this resolution is no longer followed by everyone.
Jamaica – geography
According to computerannals, Jamaica is located on the northern edge of the Caribbean plate, which slides under the North American plate in the coastal region of the country. Due to this proximity to the tectonically active zone, strong earthquakes occur time and again, including Port Royal being destroyed in 1692.
Here you can find an up-to-date topographic map of Jamaica.
Jamaica is the third largest island of the Greater Antilles and is 145 kilometers in the south of Cuba and 160 kilometers in the west of Hispaniola (with theDominican Republicand Haiti). Central America is 635 kilometers from the western tip of the island. With a length of 235 kilometers and a width between 35 and 82 kilometers, the area of the main island is 10,991 square kilometers. The Pedro Bank rises underneath the south-western coast, on 8,000 km² the water depth is no more than 100 meters. The Pedro Cays are oneArchipelagoof a total of 23 hectares in the Pedro Bank area.
In addition to the main island and the Pedro Cays, the Morant Cays archipelago, 60 km off the western coast, also belongs to the national territory of Jamaica.
In the west and in the center of the island there are limestone layers hundreds of meters thick on two thirds of the surface. The central mountain ranges, which are up to 900 m high, consist largely of this limestone. Because the rock is relatively soft, many valleys, sinkholes and caves with underground rivers have formed. The surface is particularly karstified in the area of Cockpit County (in the south of Montego Bay). In several places in the north of the island, cliffs drop steeply over 500 m to the sea. Located off the coast of up to 7,680 meters deep is Cayman Trough.
In the south of Jamaica, the descent to the sea is gentler. Two mountain ranges extending to the coast in Saint Elizabeth and Westmoreland are an exception. Limestone dominates the landscape of Jamaica, along with gneiss, magma and slate. Bauxite, found east of Montego Bay and west of Kingston, is an important mineral resource. Marble and plaster of paris are also promoted.
The approximately 100 km long mountain range of the Blue Mountains with numerous northern and southern foothills is located in the eastern part of the island. The highest point in Jamaica and one of the highest points in the Caribbean is reached here with the 2,256 m high Blue Mountain Peak.
Numerous short rivers flow on the island. Due to the course of the mountains, the direction of flow is mostly north or south. The amount carried is heavily dependent on the rainy and dry seasons. Due to the often soft rock, the rivers sometimes change their course or flow underground for longer stretches. Although the Black River is often cited as the longest river in Jamaica (year-round overground length of 53.4 km), it is actually the longest river at 92.6 km, the Rio Minho. However, its upper course regularly dries up. Both of these rivers are located in the southwest of Jamaica. The Rio Cobre is of great economic importance: in Saint Catherine it irrigates an agricultural area of 73 square kilometers and supplies Spanish Town with electricity.
Due to the dominance of porous limestone subsoil, only a few lakes were able to form. One of the exceptions is Moneague Lake, which is very small or dries out completely in years with normal precipitation. At a rhythm of several decades, its water surface increases to up to 300 hectares for a few months. The reason for this is not known, but it is believed to be changes in the underground runoff.
