St. Elizabeth, one of Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

's largest parishes

Parishes of Jamaica

Administratively, Jamaica is divided into fourteen parishes. They are grouped into three historic counties, which have no administrative relevance :...

, is located in the southwest of the island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

, in the county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

 of Cornwall

Cornwall, Jamaica

Cornwall is the westernmost of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It has no current-day administrative significance. It includes Montego Bay, the island's second largest city by area.The county of Cornwall is shown in green...

. Its capital, Black River

Black River, Jamaica

Black River is the capital of St. Elizabeth Parish, in southwestern Jamaica. It sits at the mouth of the river of the same name. Once a thriving sugar port, it is today a centre of environmental tourism and a gateway to the Treasure Beach resort area; Treasure Beach and Crane Beach are to the...

, is located at the mouth

River delta

A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

 of the Black River

Black River (Jamaica)

The Black River is one of the longest rivers in Jamaica. At a length of , it was believed to be the longest until it was discovered that the Rio Minho was 92.8 km long. Its name refers to the darkness of the river bed caused by thick layers of decomposing vegetation...

, the longest on the island.
Saint Elizabeth originally included most of the south-west part of the island, but in 1703 Westmoreland

Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica

Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island. It is situated to the south of Hanover, the southwest of Saint James, and the northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the county of Cornwall. The chief town and capital is Savanna-la-Mar...

 was taken from it and in 1814 a part of Manchester

Manchester Parish, Jamaica

The parish of Manchester is located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre, and the only parish capital not located on the coast or on a major river. The Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley The parish of Manchester is located in...

. The resulting areas were named after the wife of Sir Thomas Modyford, the first English Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of Jamaica.

There are also traces of Taíno

Taíno people

The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...

s/Arawaks existence in the parish, as well as Spanish settlements.