The Cordillera Central is a volcanic
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
in central
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
which continues from the
Continental Divide to east of
Cordillera de Tilarán. It extends 80 km from Tapezco Pass to the
Turrialba Volcano and ends on the
Pacuare River. It is separated from
Cordillera de Tilarán by Balsa River and Platanar and Zarcero hills. The Cordillera Central is part of the
American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
,
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
and
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
.
It contains four large volcanoes
Poás (2,708 m),
Barva (2,906 m),
Irazú and
Turrialba (3,340 m). The highest peak is Irazú at 3,432 m.
South of the range lie elevated plains of central tectonic depression of
Costa Rican Central Valley.
Cordillera Central's four main volcanoes are protected as
national parks
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
. Volcanic massif of the Poás Volcano is the central feature of
Poás Volcano National Park, featuring permanent
fumarolic activity. Barva Volcano features prominent
hydrothermal activity (hot springs) and is a part of
Braulio Carrillo National Park.
Irazú Volcano National Park contains Irazú Volcano, the highest volcano of Costa Rica. The significant elevation of the volcano makes it a strategic site for telecommunications, many national television and radio stations have their antennas at the summit.
Turrialba Volcano National Park centered on Turrialba Volcano features fumarolic activity and gas emissions.
Costa Rican Vulcanologic and Seismologic Observatory: Turrialba
References
Central
Central America Volcanic Arc
Talamancan montane forests
Cordilleras
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