Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi), it is the third largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 km (90 mi) south of Cuba, 191 km (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, and 215 km (134 mi) south-east of the Cayman Islands.
Transport in Jamaica consists of roadways, railways, ship and air transport, with roadways forming the backbone of the island's internal transport system.
The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno, who lived in the Greater Antilles and northern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. All these groups spoke related Arawakan languages.
Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on account of its natural floral beauty. Its capital is Saint Ann's Bay. Saint Ann comprises New Seville, the first Spanish settlement in Jamaica.
Ocho Rios is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as Ochi by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in recent decades to become a popular tourist destination featuring duty-free shopping, a cruise-ship terminal, world-renowned tourist attractions and several beaches and acclaimed resorts. In addition to being a port of call for cruise ships, Ocho Rios also hosts cargo ships at the Reynolds Pier for the exportation of sugar, limestone, and in the past, bauxite. The estimated population of the town in 2011 was 16,671, which is nearly 10% of the total population of St. Ann. The town is served by both Sangster International Airport and Ian Fleming International Airport. Scuba diving and other water sports are offered in the town's vicinity.
Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 114,227 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast.
Saint Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the widest on the island.
The Parish of Manchester is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Mandeville.
At the time of first contact between Europe and the Americas, the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean included the Taíno of the northern Lesser Antilles, most of the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas, the Kalinago of the Lesser Antilles, the Ciguayo and Macorix of parts of Hispaniola, and the Guanahatabey of western Cuba. The Kalinago have maintained an identity as an Indigenous people, with a reserved territory in Dominica.
Kalk Bay is a fishing village and suburb of Cape Town. It lies on the west coast of False Bay. Much of the town is built on the slopes of mountains which border the sea, with peaks of Table Mountain Sandstone forming valleys. The railway from Cape Town to Simon's Town passes through Kalk Bay, which has one station near the harbour.
The Dry Harbour Mountains are a range of mountains in north central Jamaica. More accurately described as a plateau than a true mountain range, they form the eastern boundary of the Cockpit Country. This is also the mountain that people used to go and pray. The Dry Harbour Mountains starts from Discovery Bay, St. Ann and covers most settlements all the way to the eastern end of the Cockpit Country. It is a mountain which abounds in limestone and bauxite. The soil type is latosol which is of red iron and aluminium oxide.
The Ortoiroid people were the second wave of human settlers of the Caribbean who began their migration into the Antilles around 2000 BC. They were preceded by the Casimiroid peoples. They are believed to have originated in the Orinoco valley in South America, migrating to the Antilles from Trinidad and Tobago to Puerto Rico. The name "Ortoiroid" comes from Ortoire, a shell midden site in southeast Trinidad. They have also been called Banwaroid, after another archaeological site in Trinidad.
The Green Grotto Caves are show caves and a prominent tourist attraction on the north coast of Jamaica. Named for the green algae that cover its walls, the structure of the cave is strikingly different from inland systems; the cave is a Flank Margin Cave with two well-defined levels apparently indicating two periods with differing sea-levels. The innermost cavern contains a crystal-clear underground lake.
Runaway Bay is a town in Saint Ann Parish on the northern coast of Jamaica and is considered one of the most naturally beautiful places on the island. It is a notable tourist destination located 16 km (9.9 mi) west of Ocho Rios, and slightly east of Discovery Bay, where Christopher Columbus landed in 1494. Ocean View Beach is a private beach situated at Runaway Bay. It consists of a series of hotel resort complexes and beaches.
The Caribbean is a subregion of the Americas that includes the Caribbean Sea and its islands, some of which are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some of which border both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean; the nearby coastal areas on the mainland are sometimes also included in the region. The region is south-east of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and north of South America.
Saint Ann's Bay is a settlement in Jamaica, the capital of Saint Ann Parish. It had a population of 10,961 at the 1991 census.
The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The Lucayan branch of the Taíno were the first New World peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus, in the Bahama Archipelago on October 12, 1492. The Taíno spoke a dialect of the Arawakan language group. They lived in agricultural societies ruled by caciques with fixed settlements and a matrilineal system of kinship and inheritance. Taíno religion centered on the worship of zemis.
Santiago was a Spanish territory of the Spanish West Indies and within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in the Caribbean region. Its location is the present-day island and nation of Jamaica.
The White Marl Taino site is an archaeological site between Kingston and Spanish town of Jamaica. Several archaeological studies in Jamaica have contributed to public knowledge regarding Amerindians. Across the entire island, the Archaeological Society of Jamaica has conducted excavations and surveys of Arawak sites since 1965. This archaeological settlement is composed of 18th and 19th-century British sugar estates and plantations. Several descriptions of the settlement have been accounted for by several archaeologists over time. Some of these studies include an archaeological study conducted by Robert Randolph Howard, Charles Cotter, and Richard Hill. Richard Hill made the first description of the White Marl site detailing pottery, human remains, and large amounts of animal life including marine mollusks and duties. These indigenous sites have been found to be composed of three main features: petroglyphs, caves, and midden deposits. There is also often an absence of ceremonial structures, ball courts, and large plazas. The caves explored have been compiled of Arawak remains suggesting the use of caves as burial sites by the Taino communities. Through studying these burial sites significant evidence has been found to establish that during the early colonial occupation of Jamaica adventure the White Marl was still inhabited during the Spanish’s time with the island. There has been a considerate discovery regarding Jamaican pottery. Influences of Haitian and Cuban pottery have been identified in the recovered Jamaican pottery artifacts.
