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(Opposite) Tourists visit Dunns River Falls, a popular attraction near Ocho Rios. (Right) A rainbow arcs across the Blue Mountains, which run through Jamaica and include the island’s highest peak. 1

Jamaica ’ s Jammin ’ Geography

JAMAICA’S GEOGRAPHY IS truly “jammin’,” a Jamaican term that means “fun” or “enjoyable.” This tropical jewel is a wild combination of beaches, grassy plains, mountains, valleys, jungles, cays , and raised areas of limestone and rock. Tourists and travelers from all corners of the world have admired the wild beauty of Jamaica’s land and sea for hundreds of years. Jamaica, the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean, occupies the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles . The island is about 146 miles (235 kilometers) long and ranges in width from approximately 22 to 55 miles (35 to 89 km). Over half of the island nation of Jamaica sits at elevations greater than 1,000 feet (305 meters) above sea level. Jamaica’s jagged coast- line is 635 miles (1,022 km) long. Kingston, St. Ann’s Bay, and Montego Bay are a few of Jamaica’s better-known harbors.

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