The 1112 ha IBA comprises the largest remnant of Montserrat's native forest. It encompasses the highlands of the northern half of the island from an elevation of 150 m up to the 741 m summit of Katy Hill. The terrain is steep, largely trackless, and riven by the ‘ghauts’, or ravines, that radiate into the islands's northern lowlands. Rainfall increases with altitude, and the vegetation changes from tropical dry forest at the lower elevations, through tropical evergreen forest to elfin forest at the summit. Most of the forest is secondary or regrowth, following historic land clearance for plantation agriculture, and at a variety of successional stages because of damage from frequent hurricanes. Other IBAs on the island are the Northern Forested Ghauts and South Soufriere Hills.[1] The Centre Hills are one of the two extinct volcanoes (with Silver Hills) that preceded the currently active Soufriere Hills.[2][3]
