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Date Posted: 10:54:32 03/18/01 Sun
Author: Mary
Subject: Re: Costa Rica Geography
In reply to: Mander 's message, "Costa Rica Geography" on 10:52:15 03/18/01 Sun

Here is some information that may help:

Two mountain chains together run almost the entire length of Costa Rica. These are, in the north, the Cordillera Volcánica, noted, as the name implies, for its volcanic activity, and, in the south, the Cordillera de Talamanca. The Cordillera Volcánica may be divided into three ranges: from northwest to southeast, the Cordillera de Guanacaste, the Cordillera de Tilarán, and the Cordillera Central. The Cordillera de Talamanca is a massive granite batholith, quite different geologically from the volcanically active northern ranges. Costa Rica's highest point is Mount Chirripó, in the Talamanca system, at 12,533 feet (3,820 metres). Two of the highest peaks in the Cordillera Volcánica, Irazú (11,260 feet) and Poás (8,871 feet), have paved roads reaching to the rims of their active craters. These volcanoes overlook the densely populated upland basin called the Meseta Central (Valle Central), and they pose a serious natural hazard, as do earthquakes for most parts of the country.

The Meseta Central is separated into two parts by the continental divide. The eastern part is drained by the Reventazón River to the Caribbean, and the western sector forms part of the basin of the Río Grande de Tárcoles, which flows into the Pacific. Another large structural valley, the Valle del General, lies at the base of the Cordillera de Talamanca in the southern part of the country. To the north and east of the mountainous central spine lie the Caribbean lowlands, about one-fifth of the country and less than 400 feet in altitude. The Pacific lowlands, which contain several small valleys and plains, include only about one-tenth of Costa Rica's territory.

Climate

Thermal convection and onshore breezes bring abundant rains to the Pacific coast in the wet season, generally May to October in the north and April to December in the south. Northeasterly trade winds on the Caribbean provide ample year-round precipitation. The higher mountain ranges have warm temperate climates, the Pacific slopes having alternatingly wet and dry seasons, while the Caribbean side has year-round rainfall.

San José's weather records report monthly averages of rainfall from well under 1 inch (25 millimetres) in February to more than 12 inches (300 millimetres) in September, with more than 70 inches (1,800 millimetres) the yearly average. Temperatures vary with altitude, San José at 3,760 feet reporting a mean of 69º F (21º C), a nearby station at 7,665 feet reporting a mean of 59º F (15º C), and another at 682 feet reporting a mean of 80º F (27º C).

Plant and animal life

Dense broad-leaved evergreen forest, which includes mahogany and tropical cedar trees, covers about one-third of the landscape. On the Talamanca range grow numerous evergreen oaks and, above the timberline, mountain scrub and grasses. The northwest, with the longest dry season, contains open deciduous forest. Palm trees are common on the Caribbean coastline, and mangroves grow on the shallow, protected shores of the Nicoya and Dulce gulfs along the Pacific.

Mammalian life is both abundant and varied and has major ties to South and North American populations. The South American species include monkeys, anteaters, and sloths; the North American, deer, wildcats, weasels, otters, coyotes, and foxes. There is a wide variety of tropical birds in the lowlands, and reptiles, such as snakes and iguanas, and frogs are common.

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