Heritage Week 2015: The Blue and John Crow Mountains on the World Stage
By: , October 19, 2015The Key Point:
Photo: Contributed
The Blue and John Crow Mountains.The Facts
- The mountain range joins a list of iconic sites such as the Great Wall of China, The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, The Taj Mahal of India, Acropolis of Athens, Great Barrier Reef in Australia, as well as the Pitons in St. Lucia.
- The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park is located on the eastern end of Jamaica. It spans sections of the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and a small section of south-east St. Mary
The Full Story
Often when Jamaica’s rich cultural heritage comes up for discussion the topics range from iconic music artistes to our collage of culinary treats. But Jamaica’s natural gifts, its indigenous flora and fauna and sprawling mountain ranges, are also considered as part of our cultural legacy. This year, with the UNESCO designating the Blue and John Crow Mountains a World Heritage site and the theme for Heritage week being “Jamaican Heritage Impacting the World”, we will examine the place of pride Jamaica’s natural terrain holds among the other great heritage sites of the world. [Please click on images for captions.]
The Blue and John Crow Mountains on the UNESCO World Heritage List
The Blue and John Crow Mountains, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2015.
The mountain range joins a list of iconic sites such as the Great Wall of China, The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, The Taj Mahal of India, Acropolis of Athens, Great Barrier Reef in Australia, as well as the Pitons in St. Lucia.
World Heritage status is given to natural and cultural sites across the globe that are considered to be of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), meaning they possess cultural and natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and are of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity.
What is the Blue and John Crow Mountains?
The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park is located on the eastern end of Jamaica. It spans sections of the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and a small section of south-east St. Mary
It is the largest contiguous area of natural forest in Jamaica, protecting 193 acres of forest on mountain slopes, comprising 10 of the island’s 26 watershed management units spanning four parishes and 4.4% of Jamaica’s land surface.
The mountains of the park dominate the skyline of Eastern Jamaica. The highest point in the island, Blue Mountain Peak (2,256 metres) is in the southern region of the park.
The Blue and John Crow Mountains comprise three mountain ranges – the Port Royal, Blue, and John Crow Mountains, divided by the Buff Bay and Rio Grande Valleys on the north side of the ranges…READ MORE