Mouth Maze Cave

Last updated
Mouth Maze Cave
Jamaica location map.svg
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Location Trelawny, Jamaica
Coordinates 18°18′30″N77°34′29″W / 18.3084056°N 77.574833°W / 18.3084056; -77.574833 Coordinates: 18°18′30″N77°34′29″W / 18.3084056°N 77.574833°W / 18.3084056; -77.574833 [1]
Depth10 metres (33 ft) [2]
Length3,118 metres (10,230 ft) [2]
Entrances2 [1]
List of
entrances		Main 18°18′29″N77°34′26″W / 18.308°N 77.574°W / 18.308; -77.574
Lighthole 18°18′32″N77°34′34″W / 18.309°N 77.576°W / 18.309; -77.576
HazardsFlood risk. Labyrinth.

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. [1] Because of this it can only safely be visited in very dry periods. [1]

Jamaica Country in the Caribbean

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola ; the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands lies some 215 kilometres (134 mi) to the north-west.

Contents

Natural history

The cave contains many invertebrates including, post hurricane Ivan, a termite nest. [1]

Hurricane Ivan Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 2004

Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Ivan formed in early September, and reached Category 5 strength on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS). Ivan caused catastrophic damage in Grenada as a strong Category 3 storm, heavy damage in Jamaica as a strong Category 4 storm, and then severe damage in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and the western tip of Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane. After peaking in strength, the hurricane moved north-northwest across the Gulf of Mexico to strike Pensacola/Milton, Florida and Alabama as a strong Category 3 storm, causing significant damage. Ivan dropped heavy rain on the Southeastern United States as it progressed northeastward and eastward through the eastern United States, becoming an extratropical cyclone on September 18. The remnant low of the storm moved into the western subtropical Atlantic and regenerated into a tropical cyclone on September 22, which then moved across Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and then into Louisiana and Texas, causing minimal damage. Ivan degenerated into a remnant low on September 24, before dissipating on the next day. Ivan caused an estimated $26.1 billion in damage along its path, of which $20.5 billion occurred in the United States.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Stewart, R S (2007-02-16). "Mouth Maze Cave - Field Notes". Jamaican Caves Organisation . Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  2. 1 2 Fincham, Alan G (1997). Jamaica Underground (2nd ed.). ISBN   976-640-036-9.
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