Northwest Pacific Lowlands--Life at the Beach
l Caribbean Lowlands l Mountains l Southwest Pacific lNW Pacific l Central Pacific l Central Valley - San Jose l
This northwest corner of Costa Rica is very arid; it undergoes a six month dry season that lasts from late November and continues until May. During the early dry season, daytime temperatures are in the upper 70's and 80's, and by the late dry season rise into the upper 80's to mid 90's °F. With six months of bright blue skies, constant "summer temperatures," gorgeous coastal beaches, warm blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, and the recent arrival of excellent Costa Rica beach hotels in the area, the coasts of this region have gained a lot of popularity for vacationing national and foreign visitors alike. Less well-known than rainforests, are the Tropical Dry Forests. Dry forests once covered much of the northwest pacific low lands; however, most of these forests were cleared long ago to create cattle pastures. These forests are characterized by trees which lose their leaves for nearly four months of the year during the peak of the dry season (January to April), to conserve moisture. Almost deserts, on hot, dry rocky outcrops and hills, columnar cactuses flourish having an advantage over trees on such inhospitable sites. Altogether there are 42 species of cactuses native to Costa Rica, but don't look for them all on the ground--35 cactus species of Costa Rica grow in trees! The ecology of the tropical dry forests is very different than the other forest types, and dry forests contain plants, birds and other wildlife unique to the area. Trees tend to be smaller, broad crowned and more gnarled than rainforest trees, and because of the long dry season are very vulnerable to fire. Clearing and burning have reduced these forests to less than there 3% of their original land coverage. Fortunately protected tracts of these interesting ecosystems can be visited in national parks such as Santa Rosa, Guanacaste and Palo Verde.
The Northwest Pacific Lowlands of Costa Rica begin in the vicinity of the city of Puntarenas and include the Nicoya Penninsula up to the border of Nicaragua and along the lower slopes of the Guanacaste and Tilarán mountain ranges. Some of the best, most accessible Costa Rica beaches are found here, perfect for a Costa Rica beach vacation.
l Caribbean Lowlands l Mountains l Southwest Pacific lNW Pacific l Central Pacific l Central Valley - San Jose l
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