Geography

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(Use the googlemap above to navigate through Costa Rica and its landmarks.) toc

The country of Costa Rica is located in the middle of Central America and home to 4,516,220 people (2010 est.). It's capital, San Jose is the most populated city in Costa Rica. The Caribbean Sea is located to the East and Northeast. To the South and West you will find the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica is surrounded by Panama, to the Southeast, and Nicaragua, to the North. //Costa Rica is translated in English as 'the rich coast'.//


 * At 50,895 square kilometers, Costa Rica is the second-smallest Central American nation after El Salvador. **

**Costa Rica** is the home to around 6% of the worlds biodiversity. This includes volcanoes, cloud forests, rain forests, dry forests and beaches. Costa Rica is also home to 28 National parks, reserves and refuges.

=**Topography** =

The **Poás Volcano**, in Spanish Volcán Poás, is an active volcano in central Costa Rica. Poás Volcano has erupted 39 times since 1828. Volcan Poás is one of the most visited volcanoes in Costa Rica, because of its proximity to San Jose and because of the luxuriant forest that surrounds the two craters. (top10costarica.com)

Table Info
 * Land Use ||= Percentage% ||
 * Meadows and Pastures ||= 45 ||
 * Forests and Woodlands ||= 35 ||
 * Other ||= 8 ||
 * Permanent Crops ||= 7 ||
 * Arable Land ||= 6 ||
 * Total ||= 100 ||
 * [[image:Pacific_Coast.jpg width="400" height="300" caption="Pacific Coast" link="@http://www.crstours.com/tours-by-area/pacific-coast/"]][[image:Central_Pacific2.JPG link="@http://www.crstours.com/tours-by-area/pacific-coast/"]](crstours.com) ||
 * [[image:carara_biological_reserve.jpg width="256" height="159" align="right" caption="Carara Biological Reserve" link="@http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dcarara%2Bbiological%2Breserve%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26fr2%3Dtab-web&w=648&h=432&imgurl=www.webtrapper.net%2Ffamily%2Fpanama_cruise%2Fcarara_swamp.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webtrapper.net%2Ffamily%2Fcarara_biological_reserve.htm&size=79KB&name=Carara+Biologica...&p=carara+biological+reserve&oid=0c16c5053d7c4c99d0564a640e371f9a&fr2=tab-web&no=8&tt=363&sigr=11uqirmii&sigi=11o9ovf93&sigb=13avblsei&.crumb=XoVtPdAWGE2"]][[image:full-manuel-antonio-islands.jpg width="256" height="155" align="right" caption="Manuel Antonio National Park" link="@http://www.govisitcostarica.com/travelinfo/photoLg.asp?phID=315"]] ||

=Natural Resources = Costa Rica is rich in nature, biodiversity and natural resources. Costa Rica’s prime location between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean and between North and South America make it easily accessible from many different locations around the world. Costa Rica is well known for its creation of electricity. Costa Rica’s electric production depends on its rivers and lakes. It is about 82% of Costa Rica’s energy that is produced by hydropower. Only 8% of Costa Rica electricity is generated by oil and the remaining percentage is for the other sources such as geothermic energy, solar and wind power. (costarica.com)

Costa Rica counts **wind power** as a natural resource along with **solar power** and **geothermal power**. Another natural resource that is often overlooked is **oxygen production.**

=**Climate** = Costa Rica's climate is very diverse and varied. This is a tropical country because of its close proximity to the equator. Costa Rica has no real winter and the sun shines throughout the entire year. The sun rises at about 5am and sets at about 6pm consistently throughout the year resulting in over 12 hours of sunshine per day.

With its nice warm weather, Costa Rica has an average annual temperature of 21 to 27 degrees Celsius or **70 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit**. The coolest months of the year are November, December and January while the hottest months of the year are March, April and May. (govisitcostarica.com)



With **no "real" summer or winter**, Costa Rica has a rainy season that lasts from May to November. Little to no rain occurs during the months of December to April leaving the heaviest rain period from September to October.

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**Questions:** 1. What time of the year would be best to visit Costa Rica? a. March through May b. November to January c. September to October

2.What is the most populated city in Costa Rica? a.Panama b.San Jose c.San Marten

3. What does 'Costa Rica' mean in English? a. Rice Coast b. Rich Coast c. Rich Port

Answers: //(highlight for answers)// 1. a 2. b 3. b

__**References**__ Costa Rica Weater. (n.d.). //Go Visit Costa Rica//. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.govisitcostarica.com/travelInfo/climate.asp

Natural Resources and Their Uses. (n.d.). //Costa Rica//. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.costarica.com/business/numbers-&-statistics/natural-resources-&-their-use/

Costa Rica Pacific Coast. (n.d.). //Costa Rica Vacation Packages, Tour Packages Costa Rica, Package Deals//. Retrieved April 25, 2011, from http://www.crstours.com/tours-by-area/pacific-coast/