Costa Rica is situated to the south on the Central American land bridge between Nicaragua and Panama. It is roughly the size of the state of West Virginia, or roughly a bit larger than the county of Los Angeles. At it’s widest point it is not quite 170 miles wide, and at it’s narrowest just under 80 miles.

The country contains a mountain range that stretches from the northwest border of Nicaragua all the way down the center and on into Panama. At it’s highest point, Mount Chirripo, it reaches up to nearly 13,000 feet. The Central Plateau sits right in the middle of the country at a height of about 3,200 feet. On the Pacific side there are two prominent peninsulas. The larger and northern of the two is Nicoya with a large gulf of the same name. The Osa Peninsula is south, almost on the border of Panama, and also has a gulf but it’s name is Dulce. An interesting geographical feature of the Gulfo Dulce is that at its farthest point from the ocean it drops straight down over 750 feet. It is one of the few places on earth that you find the real jumbo shrimp. On the Carribean side, the northern area of Tortuguero is basically a big, lowland jungle with canals and waterways snaking their way throughout.