The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino

6
Notes on the Natural
History of Jamaica
W ENDY
A. LEE
THE TERM NATURAL HISTORY loosely refers to the study and
appreciation of nature and natural resources, including both living species and
their habitats. These notes include brief descriptions of Jamaica’s geology, climate,
landforms, major ecosystems, flora and fauna.
Size and Location of Jamaica
Jamaica is one of a group of four islands called the Greater Antilles, located
in the Caribbean Sea. It is 235 km long by 82 km wide; its area is 11,400
km 2 .
Geology
Jamaica is a land mass on the Caribbean Plate. The oldest rocks in the island
are volcanic in origin and over 100 million years old, but most of the bedrock
is limestone deposited on the seafloor between 45 and 12 million years ago,
while the land mass was submerged beneath the sea. There have been two
major periods of tectonic activity (uplifting, folding and faulting), the first
starting about 65 million years ago and the second about 12 million years
ago. Most major landforms of the island as we know it were formed within the
past 5 to 10 million years, after the island finally emerged from the sea.
Jamaica has never been connected to the mainland of North America, but
when sea levels were much lower than present, about 18,000 years ago, there
was a chain of islands between here and Central America. Table 6.1 describes
major events in the island’s formation.
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