The
Blue Mountains are the longest mountain range in Jamaica. They include
the island's highest point, Blue Mountain Peak, at 2256 m (7402 ft)
From the summit, accessible via a walking track, both the north and
south coasts of the island can be seen.
As one of the longest
continuous valley ranges in the Caribbean, the Blue Mountains dominate
the eastern third of Jamaica, while bordering the eastern parishes of
Portland, St. Thomas, St. Mary and St. Andrew
to the south. Part of the Blue Mountains is contained in the Blue
Mountain John Crow Mountain National Park established in 1992.
The island's average rainfall, which is much greater in the mountain
areas facing the north and east, is 1,960 millimetres (77.2 in) per
year. Where the higher elevations of the Blue Mountains catch the rain
from the moisture-laden winds, rainfall exceeds 5,080 millimetres
(200 in) per year, with some areas recording totals of more than 7,620
millimetres (300 in). This climatic diversity has enabled a higher
rainfall yield that feeds the lush vegetation, which would include the
towering trees and more than 500 species of unique flowering plants.
The Blue Mountains are home to the world's second largest butterfly and the largest in the Americas, the Homerus swallowtail (Papilio homerus). The Jamaican Coney (Geocapromys brownii), a type of rodent, and the Jamaican boa (Epicrates subflavus) are also found there. More than 200 species of birds live in the Blue Mountains, and most are exclusively neotropical
The famous Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is cultivated between 2,000 and 5,000 feet above sea level,while
higher slopes are preserved as forest. Visitors from all over the world
come to experience the beauty, the flora and the fauna that this area
has to offer.
