The
Lay of the Land
Costa Rica occupies a territory of around 20,000 square miles
in the southern part of Central America, and includes several small
islands mostly on the Pacific side. It is much like the state of Florida with
two long coastlines. The country is only about 200 miles long and 70
miles wide at the narrowest part.
Costa Rica is often compared to Switzerland and Hawaii because
of its mountains and forests. Costa Rica’s three mountain
ranges create five geographically diverse areas. The Northern Central Plains,
the Northwest Peninsula, the Tropical Lowlands on the Pacific and Caribbean
coasts and the Central Valley where 70 percent of the population reside.
They make up the seven provinces of Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Puntarenas, Limón and San José.
Unlike many areas of Mexico, Central and South America, Costa
Rica remains beautiful and warm year-round. This is partly because
it borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east,
and has a string of towering volcanoes on the Central Plateau. Combine
all this and you have a unique tropical paradise with 11 climatic zones. |
