The climate ranges from tropical at sea level to temperate in the uplands there is relatively little seasonal variation in temperature. Lesser earthquakes, such as the 5.1 magnitude tremor felt throughout the country on 13 June 2005, have caused damage to homes and other building, but few injuries. A 1907 earthquake followed by a tidal wake destroyed the Kingston area and killed about 900 people. One of the worst earthquakes in history occurred at Port Royal (then the chief city in Jamaica) on 7 June 1692 when a large portion of the city literally sank below sea level through a series of three main quakes and several days of aftershocks thousands of people were killed. Some volcanic and seismic activity is present on the island in the form of lava cones and hot springs, some of the latter being radioactive. There are many rivers, but most are small, with rapids and falls that make navigation virtually impossible for any distance. The island has numerous interior valleys. The coastal plains are largely alluvial, and the largest plains areas lie along the south coast. The interior of the island is largely mountainous, and peaks of over 2,100 m (7,000 ft) are found in the Blue Mountains, which dominate the eastern part of the island the highest point on the island is Blue Mountain Peak, at 2,256 m (7,402 ft) above sea level. The greater part of Jamaica is a limestone plateau, with an average elevation of about 460 m (1,500 ft). Jamaica's capital city, Kingston, is located on the country's southeastern coast. The total coastline is 1,022 km (634 mi). Comparatively, the area occupied by Jamaica is slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut. It has a total area of 10,990 sq km (4,243 sq mi) and extends, at maximum, 235 km (146 mi) n –s and 82 km (51 mi) e –w. Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean Sea situated about 145 km (90 mi) s of Cuba. Movable religious holidays include Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Easter Monday. HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January Labor Day, 23 May Independence Day, 1st Monday in August National Heroes' Day, 3rd Monday in October Christmas, 25 December Boxing Day, 26 December. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: Both metric and imperial weights and measures are used. ![]() ![]() There are coins of 1, 5, 10, and 25 cents, and 1 dollar, and notes of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars. MONETARY UNIT: The Jamaican dollar (j$) of 100 cents was introduced on 8 September 1969. The two side panels are black, and the top and bottom panels are green.ĪNTHEM: First line, "Eternal father, bless our land …" FLAG: Two diagonal yellow gold bars forming a saltire divide the flag into four triangular panels.
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