Coastal Caribbean
Costa Rica's Atlantic Coast offers tropical, pristine rain forests, abundant wildlife, excellent eco tourism opportunities, world-class fishing for tarpon and snook, and miles of breathtaking beaches, where endangered sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.

Central Valley
The heart of Costa Rica boasts a nearly perfect climate, excellent museums, drive-up volcanoes and fertile hillsides dotted with coffee plantations. Within this fertile temperate valley live most of the country's people. The Capital city of San Jose, is located at an altitude of 2,900' feet above sea level, giving it an idyllic climate with temperatures that vary from the mid-70's F during the day to about 60 degrees F at night.

North Pacific, Guanacaste
Beautiful beaches, fascinating national parks and a variety of activities, including world-class fishing and diving, awaits visitors to this largest province of Costa Rica. Traveling from the Central Valley to Guanacaste is an almost surreal experience. The steep and winding roads gradually become flatter and straighter, and the lush, humid plant-life becomes sparser and drier. The mountains that before hemmed you in on both sides now become relegated to the distant horizon, replaced by vast, open lowlands ("bajura")

Central Pacific
Here you will fond many important national and private protected areas. These pristine green zones provide sanctuary for many endangered species.

South Pacific
Stretching from the highest point of the country, Mt Chirripó, and the Amistad National Park on the continental divide's mountainous border, to the Corcovado National Park and the Osa Peninsula, the Southern Zone has the highest percentage of land devoted to National Parks and Forest Reserves with the greatest biodiversity of any region in the country. A remote area with pristine forest and wonderful eco tourism opportunities, the South Pacific also offers great deep-sea fishing and diving.

Geography
Area:

• total: 51,100 sq km
• land: 50,660 sq km
• water: 440 sq km
• note: includes Isla del Coco

Land boundaries:

• total: 639 km
• border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km

Coastline: 1,290 km

Climate:
tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands

Terrain:
coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes. Four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65.

• lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
• highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m

Nationality:
noun: Costa Rican(s)

Languages:
Spanish (official), English

Government type:
democratic republic

Capital:
name: San Jose

Administrative divisions:
7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose

Independence:
15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution:
7 November 1949

Legal system:
based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Flag description:
five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA

Economy - overview:
Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports.