Costa Rica

Because of the geographical situation of Costa Rica, the country is located in the so-called “fire belt” which girdles the earth and which contains most of the worlds active volcanoes. The country has ten volcanoes which, with the exception of some solfataras and fumaroles and very occasional steam eruptions, have lain dormant for the past twenty years. Almost all of our volcanoes are covered with woods and exuberant vegetation and in some cases – such as the Poas volcano – there are beautiful lakes within the craters themselves. The Arenal and the Irazú volcanoes are very special cases, since their upper ridges are occupied by neither vegetation nor lakes. In the first of them there is a great amount of recently-cooled lava which highlights even more its perfect cone and this stands in contrast with the neighboring Arenal Lake with its hydroelectric dam.

The Irazú volcano has striking similarity as regards shape, soil and color to the moon. In spite of wealth of volcanoes in such a small country as Costa Rica, seismic movements are very few and far between and are brought about by tectonic movements, given the nearby Cocos Plaque lying under the Pacific Ocean. However these movements (with very rare exceptions) have always been moderate intensity. The country has a n extensive seismological network equipped with the most up-to-date technology as well as an excellent School of Geology.

Costa Rica with its 51100 km² and coastline bordering the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, is bounded to north by the Republic of Nicaragua and to the south by the Republic of Panama. The country has three mountain chains: the Central Volcanic Cordillera, the Talamanca Cordillera and the Guanacaste Cordillera. With the exception of the Intermountain Central Valley, the rest of the country comprises large plains situated in the north, north-west and south-west. The country is divided into seven provinces, in turn into cantons and districts. Most of the few Costa Rica islands are situated in the Gulf of Nicoya above the Pacific Ocean. Of them, mention should be made of the island of Chira, an old native settlement which today has few scattered townships of farmers and stockbreeders. There also the Cocos Island, lying some 500 km off the coastline in the Pacific Ocean. The island is the furthermost possession of the country and today it has been declared a National Park. Even today, it provides inspiration for many legends concerning priceless treasures buried there many centuries ago, when plundered the Spanish colonies.

Costa Rica’s climate is very stable and has only two very clearly defined seasons. The dry and the rainy seasons. Rains come between April and November. Temperatures range between 37ºC in the coastal areas and 0ºC on the highest peaks of the country, such as the Cerro Chirripó in the Talamanca Cordillera (3820m). the Intermountain Central Valley with an average temperatures of 20ºC and an average height above sea level of 1000m, covers 3250 km² and the major part of the country’s largest cities as well as most of the population, (approximately 2,750,00 inhabitants) are to be found there. The whole country is crisscrossed by roads and tracks which link up all the urban centers of the Republic. There is also a coast-to-coast railway line which links the ports of Limón and Puntarenas passing through the provincial capitals of Cartago, San José and Alajuela, with a line which links up with Heredia. There is also a network of air transport all over the country by means of innumerable aerodromes and airports.

The Inter-American highway, built during World War II with the cooperation of the United States, crosses the country from north to south, thus linking it to the rest of the continent.

The hydrography of Costa Rica is of the utmost importance. Indeed, so substantial is the amount of hydroelectric power produced by the country that it can cover not only its own energy needs but is able today to export electric energy to other neighboring countries. The country is small in size and therefore has a few large rivers (some of them being the Reventazón, the Térraba, the Grande de Tárcoles and the Tempisque), but the topography of the country provides excellent opportunities to derive greatest benefits from the use of waters.