Link #85: Jamaica Has 120 Rivers!

Jun 10, 2015

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Link #85: Jamaica Has 120 Rivers!

negril_jamaica — Image credit: permanently scatterbrained cc2.0

Water is the greatest resource on this planet. While the vast majority of water on Earth exists in oceans, ocean water is not as critical as fresh water found in rivers for life on the planet. While some rivers may have become dangerous to humans, as we explained in our last post on E.coli riddled rivers in South Africa, some rivers are still pristine and clean.

For instance, did you know that Jamaica, a small island in the Caribbean, has more than 100 rivers? In fact, most rivers in Jamaica are still untouched by the people living in that region. Want to know more about this great resource of rivers? Read on.

How Many Rivers Are There in Jamaica?

Rio_grande_and_Black_river — Rio Grande River by Edu-Tourist CC BY-SA 2.0 and Black River by sebastianmichalke cc2.0

There are 120 rivers in the small country of Jamaica! Even though Jamaica boasts of 120 rivers, most of these are small.

In fact, some of them are so small that they can become dry during the off season. This means that many rivers in Jamaica can dry up during the course of the year. These rivers fill up and start flowing with heavy rainfall.

The rivers on the north side of the island are known to be shorter in length and much more precarious in terms of their flow. Because of the risks involved, the shorter rivers are often considered to not be navigable on the island. The rivers on the southern side of the island are relatively calmer and longer.

Of the 120 rivers in Jamaica, the three largest and most popular are the Rio Grande, the Yallahs River and the Black River. The Black River is the widest river on the island, while the longest river is the Rio Minho. Some rivers on the island are also underground rivers which flow through limestone caves.