COSTA RICA

HISTORY

• 500 A.D. - The Diquis native people lived im southern Costa Rica. They used gold to make jewelry, animal figures etc.
• First European explorer Christopher Columbus discovered costa rica on September 18, 1502
• 1821 - Costa Rica gains independence from Spain & joins the Mexicam Empire
• 1823 - Mexican Empire dissolves; Costa Rica joins El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
• 1838 - Costa Rica becomes an independent country

GEOGRAPHY

• Shares a border with Nicaragua to the north
• Shares a border with Panama to the south
• The terrain is coastal plain separated by mountains
• Beautiful beaches
• Dry season- December to April, Wet Season- May to November

CULTURE

• Heavily influenced by Spanish Culture
• Official language is Spanish
• English was the first foreign language
• The most popular religion is Roman Catholic
• 19th century- Costa Ricans paid foreign artists to paint portraits

ECONOMICS

• Most of Costa Rica's money comes from tourism
• $1.92 billion a year tourism industry
• Main exports include bananas and coffee
• Tourism now makes more money a year than the main exports combined

CLIMATE

• Tropical and subtropical climate
• Dry season and wet season

CAPITOL AND MAJOR CITIES

• Capitol- San José
• Limón- 63,081
• San Francisco- 55,923
• Alajuela- 47,494
• Liberia- 45,380

FOOD

• Red and black beans, rice
• Fish, pork chop, chicken
• Sweet corn, sweet red pepper
• Coffee, bananas

RANDOM FACTS

• They call themselves Ticos and Ticas
• Pregnant woman are called "con luz" (with light)
• Life expectancy is 77 years (one of the highest in the world)
• Female president- Laura Chinchilla
• They call their significant others "media naranja" with means the other half of my orange.

EL EXTREMO