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Concept
Geography of Costa Rica
Summary
Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean.
The area is 51,100 km2 of which 40 km2 is water. It is slightly smaller than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Geology of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is located on the Caribbean Plate. It borders the Cocos Plate in the Pacific Ocean which is being subducted beneath it. This forms the volcanoes in Costa Rica, also known as the Central America Volcanic Arc.
The Caribbean Plate began its eastward migration during the Late Cretaceous. During the Late Paleocene, a local sea-level low-stand assisted by the continental uplift of the western margin of South America, resulted in a land bridge over which several groups of mammals apparently took part in an interchange.
Many earthquakes in Costa Rica have occurred.
Costa Rica#Largest cities
Costa Rica shares a border with Nicaragua to the north, and a 348-km border with Panama to the south.
Costa Rica claims an exclusive economic zone of with and a territorial sea of .
Land use: Arable land: 4.8%. Permanent crops: 6.66%. Other: 88.54%.
Administrative divisions of Costa Rica include 7 provinces, 82 cantons, and 478 districts. There are also 24 indigenous territories.
There are many islands of Costa Rica, the most remote being Cocos Island and the largest being Isla Calero.
The nation's coastal plain is separated by the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera de Talamanca, which form the spine of the country and separate the Pacific and Caribbean drainage divides.
The Cordillera de Guanacaste is in the north near the border with Nicaragua and forms part of the Continental Divide of the Americas.
Much of the Cordillera de Talamanca is included in the La Amistad International Park, which is shared between Costa Rica and Panama. It contains the country's highest peaks: the Cerro Chirripó and the Cerro Kamuk. Much of the region is covered by the Talamancan montane forests.
Official source
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