Jamaica lies 140 km (87 mi) south of Cuba and 190 km (118 mi) west of Haiti. At its greatest extent, Jamaica is 235 km (146 mi) long, and its width varies between 34 and 84 km. Jamaica has a small area of 10,992 km2 (4,244 sq mi). However, Jamaica is the largest island of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the third largest of the Greater Antilles, after Cuba and Hispaniola. Many small islands are located along the south coast of Jamaica, such as the Port Royal Cays. Southwest of mainland Jamaica lies Pedro Bank, an area of shallow seas, with a number of cays, extending generally east to west for over 160 km (99 mi). To the southeast lies Morant Bank, with the Morant Cays, 51 km (32 mi) from Morant Point, the easternmost point of mainland Jamaica. Alice Shoal, 260 km (160 mi) southwest of the main island of Jamaica, falls within the Jamaica–Colombia Joint Regime. It has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 258,137 km2 (99,667 sq mi).
The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterranean. It is 426 m (1,398 ft) high. Most of the Rock's upper area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 300 Barbary macaques. These macaques, as well as a labyrinthine network of tunnels, attract many tourists each year.
Portland, with its capital town Port Antonio, is a parish located on Jamaica's northeast coast. It is situated to the north of St Thomas and to the east of St Mary in Surrey County. It is one of the rural areas of Jamaica, containing part of the Blue Mountains, where the Jamaican Maroon communities of Moore Town and Charles Town are located.
Cockpit Country is an area in Trelawny and Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Ann, Manchester and the northern tip of Clarendon parishes in Jamaica. The land is marked by steep-sided hollows, as much as 120 metres (390 ft) deep in places, which are separated by conical hills and ridges. Maroons who had escaped from plantations used the difficult territory for its natural defences to develop communities outside the control of Spanish or British colonists.
The Bay Ridge Branch is a rail line owned by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway in New York City. It is the longest freight-only line of the LIRR, connecting the Montauk Branch and CSX Transportation's Fremont Secondary at Glendale, Queens with the Upper New York Bay at Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
The Jamaican Caves Organisation (JCO) is an all-volunteer caving organisation devoted to the preservation, exploration and documentation of caves in Jamaica. It is currently the only non-profit group in Jamaica dedicated to education, research and advocacy about caves.
Hutchinson's Hole is a large sinkhole named after the 18th century serial killer Lewis Hutchinson, who used the sinkhole to dispose of bodies. Its depth is approximately 98 metres (322 ft), with a cave entrance some 5 by 3 metres widening to approximately 18 by 25 metres at the bottom.
Thatchfield Great Cave is a large cave in Saint Ann Parish near the north coast of Jamaica. Because it is considered to be under threat its exact location is not widely publicised.
Mouth Maze Cave is a large, labyrinthine river cave in Trelawny, Jamaica. It is the only exit of the Mouth River from a small valley which, during intense rainfall, becomes flooded as the flow backs up. Because of this it can only safely be visited in very dry periods.
Bad Hole Cave is an impressively large rising cave in the Cockpit Country of Jamaica. This is a limestone Karst region that is very rich in caves.
Belmont Cave is a white limestone dry cave in the Cockpit Country of Jamaica. It is also known as Drip Cave, being a single cave with two close entrances.
Oryzomys antillarum, also known as the Jamaican rice rat, is an extinct rodent of Jamaica. A member of the genus Oryzomys within the family Cricetidae, it is similar to O. couesi of mainland Central America, from where it may have dispersed to its island during the last glacial period. O. antillarum is common in subfossil cave faunas and is also known from three specimens collected live in the 19th century. Some historical records of Jamaican rats may pertain to it. The species probably became extinct late in the 19th century, perhaps due to the introduction of the small Indian mongoose, competition with introduced rodents such as the brown rat, and habitat destruction.
The One-Eye River is a river in the parishes of Manchester and St Elizabeth in Jamaica. It is a tributary of the Black River.
The Jamaican caracara is a prehistoric species of terrestrial bird in the falcon family, Falconidae. It was native to the island of Jamaica in the Caribbean, where it probably inhabited dry forests in the island's south during the early Holocene. This species was described based on fossils discovered in the Skeleton Cave in the Jackson's Bay Cave system on the south coast of Portland Ridge.
Xtabi is a cove on the cliffs of Negril, in Westmoreland, Jamaica. It consists of a labyrinth of caves and passageways carved from solid rock over millennia of ocean water striking it.
Claverty Cottage is a small settlement located about 5 miles/8 km from Blue Mountain Peak in the parish of Portland, Jamaica. The population of this settlement is approximately 600 inhabitants. The district is known for its production of one of the most popular coffee brands in the island. Over the last several decades, this coffee has developed a reputation that has made it one of the most expensive and highly sought coffees in the world. In addition to its use for brewed coffee, the beans are the flavor base of Tia Maria coffee liqueur.
The Jamaican ibis, Jamaican flightless ibis or clubbed-wing ibis is an extinct bird species of the ibis subfamily uniquely characterized by its club-like wings. It is the only species in the genus Xenicibis, and one of only two flightless ibis genera, the other being the genus Apteribis which was endemic to Hawaii's islands of Maui Nui.
The Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) was created by the Jamaican government in 1999 to protect a large marine and terrestrial area on the island of Jamaica located southwest of Kingston. Nearby cays such as Little Goat Island are included. It is the largest protected area in Jamaica and comprises 724 square miles (1,880 km2). Although the first priority in forming the protected area was to protect the coral reefs, it also serves to protect vulnerable and endemic species. The PBPA includes 32 square miles (83 km2) of wetlands on the island, and coastlines of mangroves, as well as sea-grass beds that serve as a nursery for fish and shellfish breeding. The Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM) has been charged with managing zones within the protected area.
