Geography

Occupying only 19,700 square miles, Costa Rica is the second smallest country in Central America (approximately the size of West Virginia). It forms a land bridge with coasts on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with a mountainous backbone running almost full length of the country. Due to its position, it has flora and fauna found in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Costa Rica is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. There are 857 species of birds (more than the U.S. and Canada combined) 237 species of mammals, 361 species of reptiles and amphibians, 1200 species of orchids, more than 9000 species of plants, and ten per cent of the world's butterflies.

The country is divided by a backbone of volcanoes and mountains, an extension of the Andes-Sierra Madre chain which runs along the western side of the Americas. Costa Rica has four distinct cordilleras or mountain ranges - Guanacaste and Tilaran in the north, Central and Talamanca in the south. Costa Rica is part of the Pacific "Rim of Fire" and has five of the isthmus's 42 active volcanoes plus dozens of dormant or extinct cones. Earth tremors and quakes shake the country from time to time. The last major quake hit on April 22, 1991. Centered on the Caribbean side southeast of San Jose, it measured 7.4 on the Richter scale. The country's highest point is Mt. Chirripo (12,450 feet). The capital, San Jose, and the neighboring major cities of Alajuela and Heredia lie in the middle of the Meseta Central (Central Valley). Almost two-thirds of the nation's population lives in this small, fertile valley. The Pacific coastal plain is much narrower than its Caribbean counterpart. Both coasts are lined with white and black sand beaches.