Lluidas Vale, also known as Worthy Park, is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

Saint Catherine Parish Saint Catherine (capital Spanish Town) is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parishes because of its many resources. It includes the f ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. It has a population of 3,413 as of 2009.

Etymology

The name of the settlement either refers to the Spanish term ''luzida'', meaning 'happy' or 'fine', or ''lluvias'', meaning 'rains'.

Geography and geology

Lluidas Vale, whose elevations range from to , is bordered by

Ewarton Ewarton is a town in the Parish (administrative division), parish of Saint Catherine Parish, Saint Catherine, Jamaica. History The name is most likely a compound of the surname "Ewart" and the suffix -ton, meaning town. The town's economy prosp ...

and Swansea Coffee Mountain. A church is located at the heart of Lluidas Vale. The Lluidas Vales Cave is located southwest of the parish and near the Lluidas Sinkhole. Lluidas Vales has an abundance of sugarcane fields and also has a wide range of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

. In particular, the settlement is surrounded by kegelkarst.

Flora and fauna

Most of the vegetation in Lluidas Vale has been cleared for agricultural purposes, although the wet limestone forest remains largely intact. Trees commonly found in Lluidas Vale include: * '' Terminalia latifolia'' * ''

Cedrela odorata ''Cedrela odorata'' is a commercially important species of tree in the chinaberry family, Meliaceae, commonly known as Spanish cedar or Cuban cedar; it is also known as cedro in Spanish. Classification The genus ''Cedrela'' has undergone two m ...

'' * ''

Nectandra ''Nectandra'' is a genus of plant in the family Lauraceae. They are primarily Neotropical, with '' Nectandra coriacea'' being the only species reaching the southernmost United States. They have fruit with various medical effects. Sweetwood is a c ...

'' trees * fig (''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

'') trees Lluidas Vale is also home to a variety of birds including: *'' Podiceps dominicus'' * ''

Podilymbus podiceps The pied-billed grebe (''Podilymbus podiceps'') is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Because the Atitlán grebe (''Podilymbus gigas'') has become extinct, the Pied-Billed Grebe is now the sole extant member of the genus ''Podilymbus'' ...

'' * ''

Butorides virescens The green heron (''Butorides virescens'') is a small heron of North America, North and Central America. ''Butorides'' is from Middle English ''butor'' "bittern" and Ancient Greek ''-oides'', "resembling", and ''virescens'' is Latin for "greenish". ...

'' * '' Hydranassa tricolor'' * '' Florida caerulea'' * '' Ardeola ibis'' * '' Egretta thula'' * '' Nyctanassa violacea'' * '' Cathartes aura'' * ''

Buteo jamaicensis The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...

'' * '' Falco sparverius'' * '' Porzana carolina'' * '' Porphyrula martinica'' * ''

Gallinula chloropus The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated mar ...

'' * '' Fulica americana'' * '' Jacana spinosa'' * ''

Charadrius vociferus The killdeer (''Charadrius vociferus'') is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his '' Systema Naturae''. Three subspecies are described. T ...

'' * '' Columba leucocephala'' * ''

Zenaida aurita The zenaida dove (''Zenaida aurita'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes doves and pigeons. It is the national bird of Anguilla, where it is locally referred to as "turtle dove". Description The Zenaida dove is approxima ...

'' * '' Zenaida asiatica'' * '' Columbigallina passerina'' * ''

Leptotila jamaicensis The Caribbean dove (''Leptotila jamaicensis'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Belize, the Cayman Islands, Colombia ( San Andrés island), Honduras (Bay Islands), Jamaica, and Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula). It has ...

'' * '' Geotrygon montana'' * ''

Geotrygon versicolor The crested quail-dove (''Geotrygon versicolor'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to Jamaica. Taxonomy and systematics At one time the crested quail-dove was the sole member of genus ''Geotrygon''. Most of what ar ...

'' * '' Amazona collaria'' * '' Amazona agilis'' * '' Aratinga nana'' * '' Forpus passerinus'' * '' Hyetornis pluvialis'' * ''

Saurothera vetula The Jamaican lizard cuckoo (''Coccyzus vetula'') is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is endemic to Jamaica.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the ...

'' * '' Crotophaga ani'' * ''

Tyto alba The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalay ...

'' * '' Pseudoscops grammicus'' * ''

Nyctibius griseus __NOTOC__ The common potoo, or poor-me-ones (''Nyctibius griseus''), or urutau is one of seven species of bird within the genus ''Nyctibius''. It is notable for its large, yellow eyes and comically wide mouth. Potoos are nocturnal and are relat ...

'' * '' Chordeiles minor'' * '' Streptoprocne zonaris'' * '' Cypseloides niger'' * '' Tachornis phoenicobia'' * '' Anthracothorax mango'' * ''

Trochilus polytmus The red-billed streamertail (''Trochilus polytmus''), also known as the doctor bird, scissor-tail or scissors tail hummingbird, is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Jamaica ...

'' * '' Mellisuga minima'' * '' Todus todus'' * '' Centurus radiolatus'' * ''

Sphyrapicus varius The yellow-bellied sapsucker (''Sphyrapicus varius'') is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the northeastern United States. Taxonomy The yellow-bellied sapsucker was described and illustrated using a hand-coloured plate by the E ...

'' * '' Platypsaris niger'' * '' Tyrannus dominicensis'' * '' Tyrannus caudifasciatus'' * '' Myiarchus stolidus'' * '' Myiarchus barbirostris'' * '' Myiarchus validus'' * '' Contopus caribaeus'' * ''

Hirundo rustica The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...

'' * '' Petrochelidon fulva'' * '' Corvus jamaicensis'' * '' Mimus polyglottos'' * '' Dumetella carolinensis'' * '' Turdus jamaicensis'' * '' Turdus aurantius'' * '' Myadestes genibarbis'' * ''

Sturnus vulgaris The common starling or European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumage ...

'' * '' Vireo modestus'' * '' Vireo altiloquus'' * '' Vireo osburni'' * '' Mniotilta varia'' * '' Helmitheros vermivorus'' * '' Parula americana'' * '' Dendroica magnolia'' * '' Dendroica caerulescens'' * '' Dendroica tigrina'' * '' Dendroica virens'' * '' Dendroica striata'' * '' Dendroica pharetra'' * '' Seiurus aurocapillus'' * '' Setophaga ruticilla'' * '' Coereba flaveola'' * '' Euneornis campestris'' * '' Pyrrhuphonia jamaica'' * ''

Spindalis zena The western spindalis (''Spindalis zena'') is a songbird species. It was formerly considered conspecific with the other three species of spindalis, with the common name stripe-headed tanager. Taxonomy The spindalises were traditionally consider ...

'' * '' Piranga olivacea'' * '' Quiscalus niger'' * '' Icterus leucopteryx'' * ''

Icterus galbula The Baltimore oriole (''Icterus galbula'') is a small icterid blackbird common in eastern North America as a migratory breeding bird. It received its name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of 17th century L ...

'' * '' Sicalis flaveola'' * '' Loxigilla violacea'' * '' Tiaris olivacea'' * '' Tiaris bicolor'' * '' Loxipasser anoxanthus'' * ''

Ammodramus savannarum The grasshopper sparrow (''Ammodramus savannarum'') is a small New World sparrow. It belongs to the genus '' Ammodramus,'' which contains three species that inhabit grasslands and prairies. Although sometimes found in crop fields and they will re ...

References

{{coord, 18.127, N, 77.145, W, display=title Populated places in Saint Catherine Parish