Las Baulas de Guanacaste Marine National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas de Guanacaste) is a
National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
of
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 ...
Tempisque Conservation Area
Tempisque Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by SINAC for the purposes of conservation in the western part of Costa Rica, including the Tempisque River valley and the Nicoya Peninsula. It contains a number of National Par ...
, and covers approximately a marine area of the Tamarindo Bay, next to the town of
Tamarindo
Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.
...
. It supports the largest nesting colony of
leatherback sea turtle
The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...
s on the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
coast of the Americas. Female leatherbacks often come ashore at Playa Grande (Grande Beach) between October and May to lay their eggs.
More than half the park is underwater and protected but still allows recreation, such as
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
. The park has white-sand beaches and forests. The forests are home to approximately 174 species of birds and many other animals. The National Park covers four beaches (Carbón, Ventanas, Grande and Langosta), as well as the Tamarindo estuary and mangroves at the mouth of the Matapalo River and the San Francisco River Estuary. To the north, the Cerros Morro and Hermosa are also included.
The Tamarindo estuary
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
leatherback turtle
The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...
American crocodile
The American crocodile (''Crocodylus acutus'') is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts ...
in the River Matapalo.
File:Manglar de Tamarindo - Rio Matapalo - Tamarindo - Guanacaste - Costa Rica.JPG, Mangrove of Tamarindo estuary.
File:Tortuga lora.JPG,
Olive ridley sea turtle
The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in th ...
File:CrimsonSunsetCostaRica.JPG, Sunset at Beach Grande
File:Surfing-Roca Bruja-Guanacaste-Costa Rica.JPG, Surfing in Roca Bruja,
Tamarindo
Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae.
...
 is now located in this national park. <ref name=ramsar />
<h1><br><p> Gallery</h1></p>
<gallery>
File:Las Baulas National Marine Park Panorama 3 CRI 08 2009.jpg, Panoramic view of Las Baulas National Park.
File:LeatherbackTurtle.jpg, Nesting a <div class=){kind=link}