JAMAICA. 



383 



Physical Featires. 



Taken as a whole Jamaica is an elevated region witîi a mean altitude far 

 greater than that of Cuba. It has scarcely any of those marshy coastlands fringed 

 with mangroves, or of those outer shore-lines formed by fringing reefs, such as 

 abound in Cuba. The shore is almost everywhere rockbound, and cliffs occupy 

 considerable stretches in a total coast-line of about 500 miles. 



As in Cuba the highest uplands occur in the eastern part of the island, where 

 they take the name of the Blue Mountains. To mariners coasting along these 

 shores the range running about midway between the north and south coasts appears 

 in the distance nearly alua^'s wrapped in a blue haze, not dense enough^ however. 



Fig. 183.— Hilly Region ix West .Jamaica. 

 Scale 1 : 520.000. 



West oF Creenw cK 



77-40 



12 Miles. 



to veil the crests and valle3's, with their varying tints produced by the cultivated 

 tracts and zones of vegetation. The Cold Ridge, loftiest summit of the rugged 

 chain, attains an altitude of 7,423 feet according to the careful measurements of 

 Maxwell Hall.* 



West of Catherine Hill (4,460 feet) the main range is broken by a depression, 

 and the irregular uplands, which farther on rise in ridges, masses or ravined 

 plateaux, scarcely anywhere exceed 3,300 feet. Collectively they form an intri- 

 cate labyrinth due to the action of running water, which has excavated deep 

 channels and levelled the valleys in broad basins or narrow glens. Some of the 

 amphitheatres thus formed in the region beyond the hills are locally known as 



*' cockpits." 



* Proc. of the R. Geo. Societij, September, 18S7. 



