ABSTRACT
Jamaica, also with 70% limestone, is another island where caves were recorded quite early. Hans Sloane (1707) noted his 1688 observations on underground rivers, stalactite caves, and guano caves. Long (1774) published a six-page description of Runaway Bay Caves, near Dry Harbour where Columbus had landed, and also Riverhead Cave at the source of the Rio Pedro and another cave no longer known. The Geological Survey Memoir of 1869 contains a vast amount of detailed information on the island’s hydrology and caves, including those in the more remote areas. It made the Jamaican karst well known worldwide and was cited by Cvijić and by Martel. Besides the usual bat guano exploitation the bats themselves were studied about 1860. Extensive cave exploration and underground water tracing has taken place since the 1940s, inspired by the University of the West Indies and aided by visits from Europe.
