Climate of Costa Rica
Encyclopedia
Because Costa Rica
is located only about eight degrees north of the equator
, the climate
is tropical year round. However, this varies depending on elevation and rainfall. Therefore, it is greatly affected by the geography of Costa Rica
.
Costa Rica's seasons are defined by how much it rains during a particular period. The year can be easily split into two periods, known to the residents as Verano, summer and Invierno, winter. The verano season is from December to May, and is the time of year when it is not as wet. Invierno is the period from May to November, and during this time, in many locations, it rains constantly.
The location that receives the most rain is the Caribbean
(northeast) slopes of the Central Cordillera
mountain
s, with an annual rainfall of over 5000 mm (196.9 in). Humidity is also higher on the Caribbean side than on the Pacific side. The mean annual temperature on the coastal lowlands is around 27 °C (81 °F), 21 °C (70 °F) in the main populated areas of the Central Cordilera, and below 10 °C (50 °F) on the summits of the highest mountains.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
is located only about eight degrees north of the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
, the climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
is tropical year round. However, this varies depending on elevation and rainfall. Therefore, it is greatly affected by the geography of Costa Rica
Geography of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean , with a total of 1,228 km of coastline .Costa Rica shares a border with Nicaragua...
.
Costa Rica's seasons are defined by how much it rains during a particular period. The year can be easily split into two periods, known to the residents as Verano, summer and Invierno, winter. The verano season is from December to May, and is the time of year when it is not as wet. Invierno is the period from May to November, and during this time, in many locations, it rains constantly.
The location that receives the most rain is the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
(northeast) slopes of the Central Cordillera
Cordillera Central, Costa Rica
The Cordillera Central is a volcanic mountain range in central Costa Rica which continues the Continental Divide east of Cordillera de Tilarán. It extends 80 km from Tapezco Pass to the Turrialba Volcano and ending on the Pacuare River...
mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s, with an annual rainfall of over 5000 mm (196.9 in). Humidity is also higher on the Caribbean side than on the Pacific side. The mean annual temperature on the coastal lowlands is around 27 °C (81 °F), 21 °C (70 °F) in the main populated areas of the Central Cordilera, and below 10 °C (50 °F) on the summits of the highest mountains.