Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica

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Saint Elizabeth

Location

latitude 18°15'N,
longitude 77°56'W

Capital town

Black River

other Towns

Santa Cruz, Malvern,
Junction, Balaclava, Prospect

County

Cornwall

Area

1212.4 square km
(468.1 square miles)

Rank

Jamaica's second largest parish

Population

148,000 in 2001

Commerce

Tourism, Agriculture,
Bauxine Mining Manufactoring

St. Elizabeth, Jamaica's second-largest parish, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the eponymous stream, the longest on the island.

1 Brief history
2 Geography
- 2.1 Demography
3 Economy
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Brief history

Saint Elizabeth originally included most of the south-west part of the island, but in 1703 Westmoreland was taken from it and in 1814 a part of Manchester. The resulting areas were named after the wife of Sir Thomas Modyford, the first English Governor of Jamaica.

There are also traces of Taínos/Arawaks existence in the parish, as well as Spanish settlements. After 1655, when the English settled on the island, they concentrated on planting sugar cane. Today, buildings with 'Spanish wall' (masonry of limestone sand and stone between wooden frames) can still be seen in some areas.

St Elizabeth became a prosperous parish and Black River an important seaport. In addition to shipping sugar and molasses, Black River became the centre of the logging trade. Large quantities of logwood were exported to Europe to make a Prussian-blue dye which was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Electric power was first introduced in Jamaica in a house called Waterloo in Black River in 1893.

[edit] Geography

The parish is located latitude 18°15'N, and longitude 77°56'W; to the east of Manchester, the west of Westmoreland, and to the south of St. James and Trelawny. It covers an area of 1212.4 sq km, making it Jamaica's second largest parish, behind Saint Ann's 1212.6 sq km.

Lovers' Leap, Saint Elizabeth

The northern and northeastern parts of the parish are mountainous. There are three mountain ranges —the Nassau Mountains to the north-east, the Lacovia Mountains to the west of the Nassau Mountains, and the Santa Cruz Mountains which, running south, divide the wide plain to end in a precipitous drop of 1600 feet at Lovers' Leap. The central and southern sections form an extensive plain divided by the Santa Cruz Mountains. A large part of the lowlands is covered by morass, but it still provides grazing land for horses and mules.

The main river in the parish is Black River, and measuring 53.4 kilometres (33 miles), it is the longest river in Jamaica. It is navigable for about 40 kilometres (25 miles), and is supported by many tributaries including Y.S., Broad, Grass and Horse Savannah. The river has its source in the mountains of Manchester where it rises and flows west as the border between Manchester and Trelawny then goes underground. It reappears briefly in several surrounding towns, but reemerges near Balaclava and tumbles down gorges to the plain known as the Savannah, through the Great Morass and to the sea at Black River, the capital of the parish.

There are many limestone formations in the parish, resulting in the formation of 44 caves. These include Mexico, the longest in the island; Yardley Chase Caves near the foot of Lovers' Leap; Wallingford Caves near Balaclava, famous for the fossil remains of large extinct rodents; and Peru Cave near Goshen which has stalactites and stalagmites. Mineral deposits include bauxite, antimony, white limestone, clay, peat and silica sand which is used to manufacture glass.

[edit] Demography

The parish had an estimated population of 148,000 in 2001, 4000 of which live in the capital town. The distinct feature of this parish is that numerous ethnic groups can be found there; St Elizabeth probably has the greatest racial mixture in Jamaica. When the Miskito Indians came from Central America to help track the Maroons in the 18th century they were given land grants in this parish. In the 19th century Irish, Scots and Germans migrated to Saint Elizabeth, and this accounts for pockets of distinct racial mixtures in the parish notably in the southeast.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Mining

The parish has been a major producer of bauxite since the 1960s. Port Kaiser, near a town called Alligator Pond, has a leading deep-water pier for bauxite export. A huge $125 million alumina plant has been constructed at Nain.

[edit] Agriculture

Apart from bauxite mining, the parish also produces a large quantity of Jamaica's sugar; there are two sugar factories in the parish. Fishing is a major industry in the parish, as is tomato canning; a plant is at Bull Savannah. The parish also cultivates crops such as cassava, corn, peas, beans, pimento, ginger, tobacco, tomato,rice and coffee. As a result of the fertile soil that provide for grazing fields, pastoralism is possible. Livestock include goats, sheep, hogs, and cattle, horses.

[edit] Tourism

Since the 1990s, the parish has become a significant tourist destination, with most visitors going to the Treasure Beach area. The Appleton rum distillery, near Balaclava in the north of the parish, is also a tourist destination. Ecological tourism along the Black and YS rivers, and in the Great Morass has been developed in recent years.

[edit] Sites

Beaches include Font Hill, Galleon, Crane, Fullerswood, Parotte, Fort Charles, Calabash Bay, Great Bay and Treasure Beach.
Lover's Leap is a cliff plunging several hundred metres into the sea.
Y.S. Falls is a famous falls in Jamaica, similar to Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
St Elizabeth has approximately 44 caves. These include Mexico, Peru Cave, Yhardly Chase Caves, and Wallingford Caves.
Bamboo Avenue - was developed in the 17th century when local landowners planted bamboo on both sides of the road to provide shade during their travels.
Accompong, a Maroon village, is found on the western side of the island.