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Jamaica is the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean and the third largest in the region. With a total land area of 4442 square miles (10991 sq. km.), the island is 146 miles long with widths varying between 22 and 51 miles (35 and 82 km).

Situated ninety miles south of Cuba and six hundred miles south of Miami, Jamaica is18 degrees north of the equator. More precisely, Jamaica lies between latitudes 17 degrees 43 minutes and 18 degrees 32 minutes north and longitudes 76 degrees, 11 minutes and 78 degrees, 23 minutes west.

Jamaica is divided into three counties, Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey. These counties are further subdivided into parishes with Kingston, the smallest of the fourteen parishes, as home to the capital city.

The terrain is very mountainous with much of the land rising above 1,000 feet (305 km). The highest point, Blue Mountain Peak, is 7402 feet (2256m) above sea level. Complementing our mountains, Jamaica also brims with valleys and plains. The five major plains - Vere, St. Jago, George?s, Liguanea and Pedro - provide the backbone for our largely agricultural economy.

The annual average rainfall is 78 inches (198cm). Mountainous areas receive almost 300 inches (762cm) of rainfall each year while sections of the island?s western region get as little as 30 inches (76.2cm)

The annual average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius. The hottest months are in the summer, from May to September. The ?winter? season (December to March) is appreciably cooler. Areas of high altitude have chilly times. For example, the Blue Mountain Peak has an average temperature of 13 degrees Celsius, and sometimes cooler, depending on the time of year or weather.

Natural rivers and springs abound in Jamaica. Over 120 rivers flow through the land from the central mountain region to the coasts. The rivers on the north side tend to be shorter and swifter than those on the south side. The fast flowing rivers -- Black River, Rio Cobre, Milk River, Rio Grande and Martha Brae -- are used for transport and the production of electricity as well as to provide irrigation for agricultural purposes. There are several mineral springs, recognized for their therapeutic value. Some have been developed with facilities for bathing and/or accommodation, namely Milk River Bath, Bath Fountain, the Spa at Grand Lido San Souci and the Rockfort Mineral Bath. Others remain little-known gems in communities across the island.

Places to go:

Ocho Rios
The name "Ocho Rios" has two possible origins: it is either a direct translation from Spanish meaning "eight rivers" or an adulteration of "las chorreras" (the spouts), reflecting the large number of waterfalls in the area. Ocho Rios is located in St. Ann's parish about 60 miles from Annotto to Discovery Bay on a half-moon shaped cove in the middle of Jamaica's northern coastline. It was formerly a fishing port and was also known for its banana exports. Now it is a pretty resort town with stunning waterfalls and beaches and interesting colonial-period buildings like the Geddes Memorial Church and the Anglican Church. The town's business and commercial center is Pineapple Place.

When not indulging in the many activities available--horseback riding, polo, golf, tennis, shopping, scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, swimming or sunbathing--there are a number of interesting sights worth seeing in the environs of Ocho Rios:

Rio Nuevo
In 1658 it was the site of a clash between Spanish and British troops over who would possess the island. As we now know, the British won the fray.

Port Maria
Located on Pagee Beach, it has a number of well-preserved buildings of the colonial period.

Dunn's River Falls
The Dunn's River cascades over a number of rock terraces on its way to the sea and a beautiful beach. The stepping stones of the falls allow easy access up and down their 600 feet, under a stimulating shower. There is a Dunn's River feast every week with dancing, music and swimming.

Discovery Bay
The Spanish established a port here after Christopher Columbus' arrival in 1494. The three-acre Columbus Park nearby has buildings from the Spanish colonial period.

Fern Gully
A former river bed, it is now possible to walk three miles through the valley in the shadows of magnificent ferns (600 types) and hardwood trees.

Plantations
Working plantations still exist at Prospect Estates and Brimmer Hall, model agricultural centers which the produce some of the island's major exports, coconuts, bananas and citrus fruits. Tours of the estates include lessons on the life cycle of the banana plant and the proper way to carry a bunch of coconuts in a head basket.

Culture

From hotel beach parties to the raw discos of the working-class suburbs, Jamaica reverberates to the soul-riveting sounds of calypso, soca (a soul-calypso fusion) and reggae. Music is everywhere. Historical awareness infuses visual arts as well as music, and Jamaica's blend of ethnic traditions is manifest in its cusine, with its Arawak Indian, Spanish, African, Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese and British influences. Try a breakfast of skyjuice (shaved ice mixed with syrup) and ackee (a tree-grown fruit that bears an uncanny resemblance to scrambled eggs when cooked).

The island's rich artistic heritage reaches back to pre-Columbian days when the Arawak Indians etched petroglyphs on the ceilings and walls of caverns. Examples can still be seen in caves dotted throughout the island. Today Jamaica, and particularly Kingston, is a centre of Caribbean art, its vital cultural energy having flourished tremendously since independence in 1962. Edna Manley, wife of Norman Manley, Jamaica's first prime minister, was instrumental in the unshackling of Jamaican art from European aesthetic prescriptions. From the 1920s until her death in 1987 Manley was a central figure in the Jamaican art world both for her sculpture, and for her vigorous promotion and encouragement of local artists, which included the island-themed primitives (labeled 'intuitives') and a more internationalist group of painters schooled abroad. No collective visual style defines Jamaican artworks, but many emphasize historical roots in their works. The international success of reggae music has had a profound effect on Jamaican visual arts. Rastafarians are common subjects, as are market higglers, animals, and religious symbols merged with the myths of Africa.

Jamaica's homegrown cuisine is a fusion of many ethnic traditions, with Arawak Indian, Spanish, African, Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese and British influences all detectable. A typical Jamaican breakfast is ackee, a tree-grown fruit that bears an uncanny resemblance to scrambled eggs when cooked. Lunch is usually a light snack, maybe a heavily seasoned meat or vegetable pie. Main meals usually feature goat or pork, usually curried, served with rice and beans. Seafood dishes are also popular, often pickled and fried with peppers and onions. Jamaica's most popular dish is jerk, a term that describes the process of cooking meats smothered in tongue-searing marinade, and barbecued slowly in an outdoor pit over a fire of pimento wood, which gives the meat its distinctive flavor. Tea is a generic Jamaican term for any hot, brewed drink, and may be herbal, mixed with rum, milk, spices and even fish. Beware of marijuana or hallucinogenic mushroom teas, which may be more than you bargained for in an after-dinner digestive! Skyjuice is a favorite cool drink, made from shaved ice flavored with syrup. Coconut juice, straight from the nut, is also popular. Beer and rum are the most popular alcoholic drinks. Jamaican Blue Mountains coffee is among the most flavorsome in the world, but due to farcical authentication and licensing requirements, much of what is sold as the genuine article is not all it's cracked up to be.

From hotel beach parties to the raw discos of the working-class suburbs, Jamaica reverberates to the soul-riveting sounds of calypso, soca (a soul-calypso fusion) and reggae. Music is everywhere. The earliest original Jamaican musical form was mento, a folk calypso fused with Cuban influences that emerged at the turn of the 19th century and was popular until the 1950s when early boogie-woogie and R&B eclipsed it in the dance halls. Ska, though short-lived, was an unmistakably Jamaican take on R&B mixed with mento. Danceable doubletime ska was adopted by the poor and dispossessed, who later turned to the soulful, syncopated beat of reggae music and its political, social and religious messages full of metaphor, expressions of anger and praise of Jah (God). Reggae is associated above all with one man: Bob Marley, who helped spark a 'Third World consciousness' by being both a musical superstar and a consistent voice against racism, oppression and injustice.

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