Geography

Costa Rica is bordered to the north by Nicaragua, to the northeast by the Caribbean Sea, to the southeast by Panama, and to the west and southwest by the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica is an extremely varied country despite its tiny size of 50, 100 sq km.

A series of volcanic mountain chains runs from the Nicaraguan border in the northwest to the Panamanian border in the southeast, thus splitting the country in two. The highlands reach 3820 meters, and changing altitudes play an important part in determining geographical and ecological variation. In the center of the highlands lies a plain called the Meseta Central, between about 1000 and 1500 meters. It contains Costa Rica's three largest cities, including the capital, San Jose Over half of the population lives on this plain, which has fertile volcanic soils. Most of the mountains are volcanoes; some are active.

On either side of the volcanic central highlands lie coastal lowlands that differ greatly in character. The smooth Caribbean coastline is 212 km long and is characterized by year round rainfall, mangroves, swamps, rain forests, an intracoastal waterway and sandy beaches. Tidal variations are small. The Pacific Coast is much more rugged and rocky, and the 1016 km long tortuous coastline has numerous gulfs and peninsulas. The northwest coast is bordered by tropical dry forests that receive almost no rain for several months each year, as well as by mangroves, swamps, rain forests and beaches. The tidal variation is quite large, and there are many offshore islands.