Costa Rica

The Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and by the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica is seen as an example of political stability in the region, and sometimes refered to as the "Switzerland of Central America." Costa Rica has no army.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Costa Rica

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Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the North Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290km of coastline (212km on the Caribbean coast and 1016km on the Pacific).

Related Topics:
Costa Rica - Central America - Isthmus - Equator - Prime Meridian - Caribbean Sea - North Pacific Ocean

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Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309km of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639km of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 km,² of which 50,610 km² is land and 440 km² is water, making it slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia and about half the size of Ireland.

Related Topics:
Nicaragua - Panama - U.S. state - West Virginia - Ireland

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The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripo, with 3,810 m (approximately 12,515 feet), the second highest peak in Central America, after Volcan Tajumulco in Guatemala. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m or 11,257 feet).

Related Topics:
Cerro Chirripo - Volcan Tajumulco - Guatemala - Irazú Volcano

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Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island stands out because of its distance from continental landmass (24 km², 500 km from Puntarenas coast), but Chira Island is the biggest island of the country (52 km²).

Related Topics:
Cocos Island - Puntarenas - Chira Island

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The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.

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The country is highly recognized and praised for its national park system: a developed and progressive system which stresses on ecotourism. Costa Rica protects over 25% of its national territory within national parks.

Related Topics:
National park system - Ecotourism

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