The geography of Costa Rica
Overview
Costa Rica is a small country located in the southern part of the Central American isthmus. It's bordered on
the north by Nicaragua, and on the southeast by Panama. On the northeast is the Caribbean Sea, and to
the west and south is the Pacific Ocean.
At its widest point, it measures 300 km (180 miles) across. In total size, its 50,700 sq km
(20,000 sq mi) makes it a little less than half the size of Kentucky, and about two-thirds the size of Scotland.
But despite its size, Costa Rica is incredibly diverse.
The provinces
Costa Rica is divided into seven "provinces." All but one (Guanacaste, whose capital is Liberia)
have a capital city of the same name. Four of the capital cities are located in the Meseta Central,
the central plateau that is home to most of the country's 3.5 million
people. Five of the provinces spread out from
the Meseta like spokes on a wheel. The provinces are:
- San Jose -- features the culturally rich and diverse national capital.
- Heredia -- Due north of San Jose, up to the Nicaraguan border.
- Alajuela -- West of Heredia, to the Nicaraguan border. Features Volcan Poás National Park.
- Guanacaste -- The northwest part of the country.
One of the most diverse regions of the country, and the world, with cloud
forests, active volcanoes, national parks and five-star beach resorts.
- Puntarenas -- Covers most of the Pacific coast and
its lowlands, from near the most western parts of Costa Rica (due west
of San Jose,) down to the Panamanian border (actually southeast of San
Jose) including the Manuel Antonio national park.
- Limon -- The Caribbean east coast of the country. Features banana plantations, several biological reserves and national parks, and a largely Jamaican-rooted bilingual population.
- Cartago -- Northeast of San Jose. Home of many of the volcanoes that enrich the soil of the meseta.
The mountains
Four distinc volcanic mountain ranges split the country down the middle from
the Nicaraguan border to
Panama. Each is of a different size, with mountains of differing
heights and ages; factors that
lead to different climate zones within and around them.
All told, there are 16 completely distinct climate zones in Costa Rica!
The Cordillera de Talamanca, the country's oldest and southernmost range, includes Mt. Chirripó,
Costa Rica's highest mountain at 3,820 metres (12,500 feet.) The Central Volcanic Range features
the volcanoes Turrialba, Irazú, Barva and Poás. In the northwest is the
Tilarán Range, whose altitude reaches 1,700 metres (5,000 ft) at the Monteverde Cloud Forest.
Farther to the northwest is the Guanacaste Range. Near the Nicaraguan border, this range includes
five active volcanoes; among them are Volcan Arenal, a popular tourism attraction, Rincon
de la Vieja, and Miravalles, which is being used to generate geothermal energy.
The oldest rocks in Costa Rica aren't in any of these ranges, but in the Nicoya area, low mountains
which appear occasionally beside the Pacific lowlands.
The Meseta Central
Protected amongst the mountain chains is the central valley, or Meseta Central. It's actually a
high plateau. Its soil is rich with volcanic ash created by the mountains in the Central Range over the past
two million years. Virtually anything can be grown there! Its climate is temperate year-round -- never too hot during
the days, always pleasantly cool in the evenings. Most of the cities are located on the Meseta.
The coasts
A microcosm of the entire Americas, Costa Ricas coasts differ greatly from each other. The Caribbean coast
is smooth, with sandy beaches and small tides. Just over 200 km in length (160 miles,) its lowlands are
characterized by swamps, mangroves and year-round rains. There is an intracoastal waterway, with rivers
flowing through much of the eastern and northeast parts of the country through forests and near-jungle land.
The west coast and its lowlands are very different, with elements common to the North and South American
west coasts. Much of the coast itself is rugged and rocky, and spotted
with gulfs and peninsulas. The tides vary
greatly, and there are numerous islands offshore. The west coast ranges
or just over 1,000 km (600 mi.) Some
of its northern lowlands are tropical dry forests, which receive almost no
rain for several months of the year; elsewhere, there are swamps and
mangroves.
The west coast is also the home of most of Costa Rica's more popular resorts and beaches, from the posh
resort areas of Guanacaste in the north to the pristine (and legally
protected) Playa Manuel Antonio
to the south. Two of its peninsulas are particularly important; the Nicoya, separated from the
mainland by a gulf of the same name, and the Osa, separated by the Golfo Dulce. The Nicoya
is hilly, dry and dusty from December to April, and hosts some of the
country's better beach resorts, as well as much of its cattle farming.
The Oso is the location of the Corcovado National Park, one of
Costa Rica's most important protected rainforests.
Costa Rica table of contents
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