The Central Valley () is a plateau and a geographic region of central
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
. The land in the valley is a relative plain, despite being surrounded by several mountains and volcanoes, the latter part of the
Central Range. The region houses almost three quarters of Costa Ricans, and includes the capital and most populous city,
San José. The valley is shared among the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of
Alajuela
Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of the province, it i ...
,
Heredia,
San José and
Cartago. The region occupies an area of 11,366 km², more than a fifth of the country, and is drained by the
Tárcoles River on the west side and by the
Reventazón River
The Reventazón River, , (), is a river in Costa Rica.
Geography
Reventazón River forms part of the Reventazón-Parismina drainage basin, it is long and flows into the Caribbean sea. It starts at the base of the Irazú Volcano, passing t ...
on the east side.
Geographic dimensions
The Central Valley is commonly considered to extend from the city of
San Ramón in
Alajuela
Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of the province, it i ...
in the west, to the city of
Paraíso in
Cartago in the east. The mountains north of the valley are part of the Central Range. There are four main volcanoes north of the valley, namely
Poás,
Barva
Barva is a district of the Barva canton, in the Heredia province of Costa Rica. The city is known for having a nice mix of rural and metropolitan landscape.
Toponymy
The name comes from Barvac or Barvak a cacique of the area around 1569, which ...
,
Irazú and
Turrialba. The mountains that round the plateau to the south form part of the
Talamanca Range. A smaller range, the
Carpintera Hills, which runs from north to south roughly along the border between the provinces of
San José and
Cartago, divides the valley into two sections. The western section is normally referred to as "Western Valley" or "Central Valley" proper and the eastern section is referred to as the Eastern Valley or "Valle del Guarco". This smaller range also impacts the weather and ecosystems of the two subregions, with the Western Valley significantly influenced by the weather patterns of Costa Rica's Pacific coast and the Eastern Valley influenced by the Caribbean coast weather.
Climate
Because of its altitude, the temperature in the Central Valley varies between , mainly because of the position toward the mountains (the altitude also varies between 800 m and 1,500 m above sea level). The western part of the valley is influenced by
trade wind
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...
s in summer, and, as the rest of the country with the exception of the Caribbean region, there are two climate seasons clearly defined,
wet and
dry. The eastern part of the valley is influenced more by Caribbean conditions, which are more volatile. Annual rainfall in the region varies from in an urban and central place like
Pavas
Pavas is the ninth district of the San José canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica. The district comprises Tobías Bolaños International Airport, San José's domestic airport.
Geography
Pavas has an area of km2 (the largest distr ...
to in a rural and mountainous place like
Fraijanes
Fraijanes is a town, with a population of 44,117 (2018 census), and a municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala.
It is known for its fine tasting coffee, which is slightly more acidic than that of Antigua Guatemala.
History
Archbis ...
.
Humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
varies from 75% (10% of volatility) in Pavas, to 87% (rarely descending to less than 80%) in Fraijanes.
Economic importance
The Central Valley had been traditionally the favorite place for Costa Ricans to live, and even today it contains an unequal distribution of population of the country, in relation to its size. This is because of the fertility of land in the region, helped by the influence of volcanoes and rivers that run through the valley. Weather also favours agriculture and farming activities. Because of the agglomeration of population, the valley is the center of commerce, industry and service activities, sustained by ports on both coasts, and by
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
in Guanacaste (which has the other
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
besides
Juan Santamaría Airport in
Alajuela
Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of the province, it i ...
) that have similar economic movement.
The
Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) is the main populated conurbation of the country, and covers an extension roughly the same as the Central Valley.
See also
*{{Wikivoyage-inline, Central Valley (Costa Rica)
Landforms of Costa Rica
Valleys of Costa Rica
Geography of Alajuela Province
Geography of Heredia Province
Geography of San José Province
Geography of Cartago Province
Plateaus of North America