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 first capital of Jamaica, Spanish Town, originally known as San Jago de la Vega or Santiago de la Vega (St. James of the Plain). History The modern boundaries of St. Catherine were decided in 1867 when four smaller parishes were amalgamated. The historic parishes of Saint Dorothy Parish, Saint John Parish and Saint Thomas in the Vale Parish, Jamaica were merged with the historic parish of Saint Catherine. Geography and People St Catherine is located at . It is bordered by St Andrew in the east, Clarendon in the west, and by St Mary and St Ann in the north. It has an area of 1,192 km2, making it one of Jamaica's largest parishes and it is one of the fastest growing parishes in the nation and has the largest economy out of all fourteen parishes. Except for the Hellshire Hills near the coast, the south of the parish is virtually flat. The central and northern sections are very mountainous, however; the northern border is on Mount Rosser, which crosses over into St Ann, the highest point being . A plain of approximately occupies the southern part of the Rio Cobre basin. The Rio Cobre is the only river that runs along the southern plain. It provides water to irrigate over on the plain. Commerce Development Out of all the parishes (with the exception of Kingston Parish and Saint Andrew Parish) Saint Catherine shows the most potential for urban development. With its good water resources, virtually flat landscape, and nearness to the capital, it could possibly be one of the Caribbean's major urban areas in the next few years. Agriculture Agriculture remains the main source of employment in the parish. There are many small farmers who practice mixed farming; crops such as bananas, coconuts, pineapple, citrus, pumpkins, peppers, coffee and callaloo are planted for both domestic and commercial purposes. The larger properties produce sugar cane, bananas and citrus mainly for export. Dairy farms are also found in the parish. One of these is a farm in Old Harbour. The Salt Ponds District between Spanish Town, Port Henderson and Passage Fort is noted for the fine fish especially calipera.