Semi-detailed Soil Survey of the LIuidas Vale Area, St. Catherine-St ...

DESCRIPTION OF THE SURVEY AREA
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE SURVEY AREA
2.1 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
The major part of the survey area is located in north-western part of the
parish of St. Catherine, while the northern portion extends into the parish of
St. Ann. It is covered by topographical map sheets Nos. 84A and 84C (scale
1:12,500) of the Survey Department. The northern and southern boundaries
are at latitude 18°13'13"N and 18°16'37"N respectively and the eastern and
western boundaries are at 77°10'22" and 77°05'11" west of Greenwich. The
corresponding state plane coordinates are indicated in Figure 1. The total
acreage of the survey area is approximately 11,040 ha.
The main centres in the survey area are Lluidas Vale and Worthy Park
Estate, occupying most of the land in the Lluidas Vale basin, and Ewarton at
the upper fringe of the St. Thomas in the Vale basin (or: Linstead basin).
Ewarton is located along the main road from Spanish Town (56 km southeast)
to Ocho Rios (37 km north). Lluidas Vale lies along the secondary road
from Spanish Town via Point Hill to Moneague. Both routes run in northsoutherly
direction. A poorly asphalted road forms the east-west connection
from Ewarton, through Lluidas Vale to Crofts Hill in Clarendon. Small villages
in the area include Tydixon, Mount Rosser, Charlton, River Head, Top Hill and
Polly Ground.
With the exception of the bauxite industry (ALCAN Jamaica Ltd.) south-east
of Ewarton and the sugar cane factory of Worthy Park, there are no major
industries in and surrounding the survey area. Ewarton provides
employment as an administrative centre for the area. Large farms, like
Worthy Park Estate, Ewarton Nurseries Ltd., some CIDCO (Coffee Industry
Development Corporation) farms and a few poultry farms are important
centres of agricultural activity, besides the majority of small farmers living
in the villages.
Piped water is available in most villages, including those in the hills. The
latter villages, however, have no electricity or telephone facilities. Post
offices, police stations as well as markets are found in Lluidas Vale and
Ewarton. Secondary schools are located in Ewarton. For health services
(hospital) the population is dependant on Linstead.
Ewarton has a Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS)-shop, where agricultural
goods like fertilizers and pesticides are sold at subsidized prices. The major
centre for agricultural extension is the Land Authority Office in Linstead. The
Land Authority Office takes care of the free distribution of pesticides and
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