Costa Rica: Fun and Interesting Facts and Resources

Fun Facts about Costa Rica

Costa Rica lives up to its name (translated to Rich Coast in English). This land, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west, is an area rich with natural wonders including rain forests, volcanoes, sandy beaches and waterfalls. Its capital of san Jose is located inland and is the country’s largest city. This area functions as the center of political and transportation activity in the nation and is one of the newest capital cities in the whole of Latin America, founded in 1738. The country’s climate is classified as a tropical rainforest, but its climate is generally mild and agreeable. It experiences a rainy season that lasts from May until November. The culture of Costa Rica is open for exploration around every corner, and the people are known to be friendly towards those wishing to learn more about their way of living.

1. Costa Rica is the only country in the western hemisphere without an arm.y

Since 1948, when then President Jose Figueres Ferrer abolished the country’s military, Costa Rica has been a military free republic. The surplus money that is no longer used to fund the army is used for security purposes, to ensure that Costa Rica remains a lawful place and keeps the peace with foreign countries.

2. Costa Rica has 25% of its land protected by the national government, which uses the land for national parks or biological, marine and land reserves.

Costa Rica’s extensive conservation efforts provide homes for 27 national parks, 58 wildlife refuges, 32 protected zones, 15 wetland areas, 11 forest reserves, 8 biological reserves, 12 conservation regions all of which contain deciduous forests, mangrove swamps, rainforests, cloud forests, riparian forests and coral reefs. Within these areas, 10,000 types of plants and animals make their home. 850 different species of native and migratory birds call Costa Rice their domicile, while the same applies to 205 species of mammals, 35,000 species of insects, 160 species of amphibians, 220 species of reptiles and 1,013 species of fish.

3. Costa Rica has between two and forty earthquakes each month.

Costa Rica’s position between North America and South America makes it an extremely active area for earthquake activity. The Cocos and Caribbean plates actively shift, causing dozens of small earthquakes each month. Most are not significant, however the country fairly often receives a major earthquake measuring above 5.0 on the Richter scale.

4. Costa Rica was ranked the top country in the Americas in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index.

The country also ranked third in the worldwide rankings. These scores are categorized into a series of health factors including water (effects on humans), air pollution (effects on humans), environmental burden of disease, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, climate change, air pollution, water (effects on ecosystem) and biodiversity and habitat. Costa Rica scored high in the majority of categories, with the highest scores in the forest, fishery and water (effects on humans) categories.

5. Costa Rica elected Laura Chinchilla as its first woman president in 2010.

Laura Chinchilla was sworn in as Costa Rica’s president on May 8, 2010. Before her election to the presidency, Chinchilla was a Vice President and Minister of Justice for Oscar Arias Sanchez, who served as Costa Rica’s president from 2006 until 2010. Other positions she has held included NGO consultant, vice-minister for public security, minister of public security and the National Assembly’s deputy for the province of San Jose.

6. Costa Rica is home to some of the world’s best sport fishing.

The major fish that can be caught in Costa Rica are Sailfish, Marlin, Dorado, Tuna, Wahoo, Roosterfish, Snapper, Tarpon and Snook. The climate is perfect for fishing year round in the Central Pacific Coast area. River fishing is best in Barra del Colorado, Rio Colorado, Tortugero and Rio Parisima.

7. Costa Rica is 51,100 square kilometers in size

Costa Rica’s total land area is 51,100 square kilometers, or 19,730 square miles. This area is slightly less than the area of West Virginia, and comparable to the total land area of New Hampshire and Vermont combined. Within these square miles lie coastal plains, rugged mountains, 100 volcanic cones and rain forests. The climate is primarily tropical and subtropical, with a rainy season from May through Novembers and a dry season from December through April. It is bordered to the north by Nicaragua, and to the south by Panama.

8. Costa Rica is home to several major volcanoes.

Costa Rica falls into what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of volcanoes in the northern Pacific Ocean. On its land, Costa Rica contains 200 volcanoes that are over 65 million years old. Half of these have volcanic activity, and only five are volatile enough to be called active volcanoes. These cones are locates in the Central Highlands region of the country, in one of three ranges; The Guanacaste Range, the Central Volcanic Range and the Talamanca Range.
Costa Rica’s volcanoes and the water that often surrounds them are an excellent tourist destination for hiking, white water rafting, surfing, boating, swimming kayaking, camping and exploring.

9. Cerro Chirripo is the highest point in Costa Rica.

The Chirripo summit is located in Chirripo Nation Park and rises 3,820 meters above sea level (equivalent to 12,533 feet). On clear days, the summit affords views to the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The peak can be reached via a 16-kilometer hike that takes two to three days one way.

10. Costa Rica’s main economy drivers include tourism, agriculture and electronics exports

The country’s main agricultural exports are bananas, coffee sugar and beef. Its main electronics export is microchips. Tourism drives the economy as well, attracting visitors for its rain forests, volcanoes, sandy beaches, extensive ecosystem, clear blue oceans, ideal climate and waterfalls.
The economy of Costa Rica was on a ten-year upward climb until the recent global economic downtown. The country is faring the times well, however, and is on a strong path to recovering its economic growth.