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Costa Rica
Geography of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in southern Central America. It borders Nicaragua in the north, Panama to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean to the east. In total, Costa Rica has approximately 1300 km of coastline to see. Costa Rica can be divided into five or six topographical regions. The American Cordillera is a chain of volcanic mountain ranges which runs from North to South almost all the way through the country. The northern segment of the Cordillera is called the Cordillera de Guanacasete. The central segment is known as the Cordillera Central, while the southern segment goes by the name of the Cordillera de Talamanca. Irazú is the country’s highest volcano at 3432 m. Other popular volcanoes include Turrialba, Poás and Arenal. At 3920 m, the country’s highest mountain is Chirripó Grande in the southern Cordillera de Talamanca. The Monteverde nature reserve is located near Lake Arenal, which lies at the base of the Arenal Volcano and is the largest lake in Costa Rica.
The central highlands are known as Valle Central, and are home to the capital San José and the cities of Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago. This area is the seat of the country’s national government and its main economic region, and is also home to 60% of the population.
The Caribbean coast to the east is shaped by enormous banana plantations and meandering river systems. The Pacific Coast to the west is home to tropical rainforest and evergreen rain forests. The Nicoya Peninsula to the northwest has a relatively dry climate, and is dominated by tropical dry forests, volcanoes and meadowlands. The southernmost region in Costa Rica is the rainforest and its tropical beaches. This region also contains Costa Rica’s highest mountain pass, Cerro de la Muerte.
Geomorphology/Geology
In geological terms, Costa Rica is a relatively young country that formed during the subduction of the Cocos plate under the Caribbean plate in the Middle America Trench. As a consequence, various volcanic islands were formed that collided due to a constant plate movement. Nowadays earthquakes can occur due to this plate movement and there are several active volcanoes, of which the Arenal is the youngest in Costa Rica. Its last eruption was in 1968 and it is still growing a few meters every year.
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