Costa Rica Geography

  

Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America. Costa Rica is by Nicaragua on the North and the Caribbean Sea and Panama on the East. On the South and West of Costa Rica is the Pacific Ocean. The largest city in Costa Rica is the capital San Jose, which neighbors the cities of Alajuela and Heredie and lies in the middle of the Meseta Central, or Central Valley, where approximately 75% of Costa Ricans reside.

Costa Rica is separated by an extension of the Andes-Sierra Madre chain of volcanoes and mountains that run along the Western side of the Americas. Costa Rica has four separate mountain ranges, including Guanacaste and Tilaran located in the North and Central and Talamanca located in the South. And, the high mountain ranges (cordilleras) cross central Costa Rica from Northwest to Southeast. The cordilleras divide Costa Rica into 3 regions: the Central Highlands, the Carribean Lowlands, and the Pacific Coastal Strip.

Costa Rica’s Central Highlands are two large areas with very fertile farmland called the Central Plateau, or the Meseta Central, and the Valley of the General, or the Valle del General. Approximately 75% of Costa Ricans reside in the Meseta Central valley and is considered Costa Rica’s heartland. The Meseta Central is also Costa Rica’s chief coffee-growing region, with its rich volcanic soil and great climate.

Costa Rica’s Caribbean Lowlands are swampy tropical jungles that lie along the East coast. And, Costa Rica’s Pacific Coastal Strip is a large area of lowlands that run along the West coast and contain low mountains that rise along the shore.

Costa Rica has 42 active volcanoes, which cause earth tremors and small quakes. Costa Rica’s last major earthquake was on April 22, 1991.