12.3 Mountains: Jamaica's Highlands & the World's Great Ranges
Key Takeaways
A mountain is a high landform with steep slopes and a peak or summit; a plateau is a high, mostly flat area; a valley is a low area between hills or mountains.
Blue Mountain Peak, at 2,256 metres, is the highest point in Jamaica, in the Blue Mountains of eastern Jamaica.
Mountain areas provide water catchment, forests, farmland for crops such as Blue Mountain coffee and Irish potatoes, and tourism, but deforestation and poor farming cause erosion and landslides.
Temperature falls as height increases, and moist winds rising over mountains produce heavy relief rainfall on the windward side and a drier rain shadow on the leeward side.
Major world ranges include the Himalayas in Asia, the Andes in South America, the Rocky Mountains in North America, the Alps in Europe and the Atlas Mountains in Africa.
12.3 Mountains: Jamaica's Highlands & the World's Great Ranges
The Grade 6 Social Studies unit on mountains (Term 2, Unit 1, theme The Physical Environment and Its Impact on Human Activities) asks students to locate Jamaica's major mountains on a map, use landform vocabulary correctly, describe the activities, goods and services found in mountain areas, analyse the effects of human activities on mountains, explain how mountains affect weather and climate, and locate major mountain ranges of the world.
Landform Vocabulary
| Term | Meaning | Jamaican example |
|---|---|---|
| Landform | A natural feature of the Earth's surface | Mountains, hills, plains, plateaus |
| Mountain | A high landform rising steeply above its surroundings, usually over about 600 m | Blue Mountain Peak |
| Mountain range | A chain or group of connected mountains | The Blue Mountains, the John Crow Mountains |
| Hill | A raised landform, lower and more rounded than a mountain | The hills of the Cockpit Country |
| Summit (peak) | The highest point of a mountain | Blue Mountain Peak, 2,256 m |
| Slopes | The sloping sides of a mountain or hill | Coffee farms on the slopes of the Blue Mountains |
| Valley | A low area between hills or mountains, often with a river | The Rio Cobre valley at Bog Walk |
| Plateau | A high area of land with a fairly flat top | The Manchester Plateau around Mandeville |
| Plain | A large area of flat, low land | The Liguanea, Vere and St. Jago plains |
| Forest reserve | Forest land protected by law | Forest reserves in the Blue and John Crow Mountains |
Jamaica's Main Mountains
- The Blue Mountains (St. Andrew, St. Thomas and Portland): the highest range, with Blue Mountain Peak at 2,256 m (7,402 ft), the island's highest point.
- The John Crow Mountains (Portland and St. Thomas): rugged, rainy and thickly forested, east of the Blue Mountains.
- The Port Royal Mountains (St. Andrew): overlooking Kingston.
- Central and western highlands: Mount Diablo (St. Catherine and St. Ann), Bull Head Mountain (Clarendon), the Mocho Mountains (Clarendon), the Dry Harbour Mountains (St. Ann), the May Day and Don Figuerero Mountains (Manchester), the Santa Cruz Mountains (St. Elizabeth) and Dolphin Head (Hanover).
On a thematic map of Jamaica's mountains, use a clear key: shading or colours for height, a triangle symbol for peaks, and labels for each range.
Activities, Goods and Services in Mountain Environments
| Activity | Goods or services produced | Jamaican example |
|---|---|---|
| Farming on cool slopes | Coffee, vegetables, Irish potatoes, yams | Blue Mountain coffee; Christiana potatoes; Trelawny yams |
| Forestry | Timber, fuel wood, forest products | Plantations of mahoe and pine in forest reserves |
| Water catchment | Rivers and reservoirs that supply towns | Rivers rising in the Blue Mountains feed water supplies for Kingston |
| Tourism and recreation | Hiking, eco-lodges, waterfalls, bird-watching | Hiking to Blue Mountain Peak; Holywell recreation area |
| Conservation and heritage | Protection of species and cultural sites | Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015; Maroon communities such as Moore Town |
| Mining and quarrying | Bauxite, limestone, marble | Bauxite on the limestone plateaus of St. Ann and Manchester |
Why mountains are important: they store and release water, protect biodiversity (many plants and animals are found nowhere else), influence rainfall, provide farmland and timber, attract visitors, and carry history and culture, such as the Maroons' mountain strongholds.
How Human Activities Affect Mountains
| Harmful activity | Effect | Better practice |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting trees for farming, charcoal and lumber (deforestation) | Soil erosion, landslides, less water in rivers, loss of habitats | Reforestation; protected forest reserves |
| Slash-and-burn farming and farming up and down steep slopes | Topsoil washes away; bush fires | Terracing, contour ploughing, cover crops |
| Quarrying and mining | Scarred land, dust, silted rivers | Rehabilitating mined land; replanting |
| Unplanned housing and road cutting | Unstable slopes, landslides during heavy rain | Planning laws, retaining walls, proper drainage |
How Mountains Affect Weather and Climate
- Temperature falls with height. Air is thinner and cooler higher up; on average the temperature drops by roughly for every 1,000 m of height. If it is in Kingston near sea level, a place about 1,500 m higher would be roughly . This is why Blue Mountain Peak can be cold at night and why Mandeville is cooler than coastal towns.
- Relief (orographic) rainfall. Moist Northeast Trade Winds are forced up the mountains, cool, and drop heavy rain on the windward (north-eastern) slopes, which is why Portland is so wet.
- Rain shadow. After crossing the mountains the air sinks and warms, so the leeward (south-western) side, such as parts of St. Catherine and the Pedro Plains in St. Elizabeth, is drier.
- Mist and cloud forests form on high mountains, supporting ferns, mosses and orchids.
Major Mountain Ranges of the World
| Continent | Mountain range | Notable peak and height |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | Himalayas | Mount Everest, 8,849 m (the highest mountain on Earth) |
| South America | Andes | Aconcagua, 6,961 m |
| North America | Rocky Mountains | Mount Elbert, 4,401 m (North America's highest peak, Denali at 6,190 m, is in the Alaska Range) |
| Africa | Atlas Mountains | Toubkal, 4,167 m (Africa's highest peak, Kilimanjaro at 5,895 m, is a single volcano) |
| Europe | Alps | Mont Blanc, about 4,800 m |
| Australia | Great Dividing Range | Mount Kosciuszko, 2,228 m |
| Antarctica | Ellsworth Mountains | Vinson Massif, 4,892 m |
When you compare the table, notice that Blue Mountain Peak (2,256 m) is only slightly higher than Australia's highest peak, but less than one-third the height of Mount Everest.
What is the name for a high area of land with a fairly flat top, such as the area around Mandeville?
A valley
A plain
A plateau
A summit
Why is it usually much cooler at Blue Mountain Peak than in Kingston on the same day?
The peak is much closer to the sea than Kingston is
Temperature usually falls as height above sea level rises
The peak receives no direct sunlight during the day
The Northeast Trade Winds blow only on the mountain peak
Which mountain range is found in South America?
The Alps
The Himalayas
The Rocky Mountains
The Andes
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