The nation's terrain is coastal plain separated by rugged mountains, the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera de Talamanca, which form the spine of the country and separate the Pacific and Caribbean watersheds. Costa Rica claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).
The spine of the country produces many major river systems. Rivers draining into the Caribbean include:
-Colorado River (Rio Colorado)
-Pacuare River (Rio Pacuare)
-Reventazón River (Rio Parismina)
-Reventazón River (Rio Reventazon)
-Sixaola River (Rio Sixaola)
-Rivers draining into the Lake Nicaragua or the San Juan River (Rio San Juan), whose waters eventually drains into the Caribbean, include:
-Sapoá River (Rio Sapoá)
-Frío River (Rio Frío)
-San Carlos River (Rio San Carlos)
-Sarapiquí River (Rio Sarapiquí)
-Rivers draining into the Pacific Ocean include:
-Abangares River (Rio Abangares)
-Guacimal River (Rio Guacimal)
-Sierpe River (Rio Sierpe)
-Tempisque River (Rio Tempisque)
-Térraba River (Rio Terraba)
-In the eastern half of the country, the San Juan River forms the northern border with Nicaragua.
Mountain ranges
Cordillera de Tilarán
The Tilaran Range is part of the Continental Divide east of Lake Arenal and the nearby active volcano Arenal, and running into the Cordillera Central range further east. It is located in the Abangares district of the province of Guanacaste.
At the edge of the range is the Monteverde cloud forest preserve, a major ecotourism destination.
Cordillera Central
The Central Range continues the Continental Divide east of Cordillera de Tilarán. It has four large volcanoes: Poás, Barva, Irazú and Turrialba. The highest peak is Irazú at 3,432 m.
Cordillera de Guanacaste
The Guanacaste Range is in northern Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua. The range forms part of the southern region of the Continental Divide, the highest peak being the extinct stratovolcano Miravalles at 2,028 m. Peaks include:
Miravalles Volcano (2,028 m)
Orosí Volcano (1,659 m)
Rincón de la Vieja Volcano (1,916 m)
Cordillera de Talamanca
Much of the Talamanca Range is included in the La Amistad International Park, which is shared between Costa Rica and Panama. The country's highest peaks lie in this mountain range: the Cerro Chirripó and the Cerro Kamuk. Much of the region is covered by the forest.
Cerros de Escazú
The Cerros de Escazú borders the Central Valley to the south and is considered the northernmost portion of the Cordillera de Talamanca.
Volcanoes
Four volcanoes (two of them active) rise near San Jose, in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu Volcano, erupted destructively in 1963-1965.
Peru Travel Links:
Inca Trail Availability
Peru Tourism
Rate and comment
