Maps of Costa Rica

Costa Rice covers an area of 51,100 sq. km (19,700 sq mi) in Centra America. As can be seen on the above map of Costa Rica, most of Costa Rica is dominated by the Sierra Madre Mountains, literally fractured into individual ranges and valleys by violent volcanic eruptions over eons of time.

Speaking of volcanoes, the country’s most active one is the cone-shaped Arenal Volcano, located in the Tilaran Mountains, which erupts in some measure almost everyday. To the southeast, the Poas, Barva, Irazu and many other volcanoes form the Central Mountain's most spectacular landforms; with Irazu Volcano at 11,257ft (3,431m) being the country’s highest volcano. 

The country’s highest point – Cerro Chirripo, at 12,530ft (3,819 m) and the higher Talamanca Mountains front it’s southern border with Panama.

Situated in the northern Highlands of the country, Lake Arenal is the largest Lake in Costa Rica. The heavily forested northern plains (to the south of Lake Nicaragua) stretch eastward along the San Juan River, then push southward through the rain forest edges of the Central Mountains, and on to the sandy beaches of the Caribbean coastline.

Costa Rica's beach-covered Pacific coastline is quite narrow, and indented with many small bays, as well as the Gulf of Dulce and the Gulf of Nicaya, both protected by hook-shaped peninsulas. In the West, those beaches rise abruptly into the coastal hills of the mountains.

Many dozens of rivers drain the land; the Chirripa, Frio, General, San Juan and Tempisque are indicated on the map above.

Provinces of Costa Rica Map

Costa Rica (officially, the Republic of Costa Rica) is divided into 7 administrative provinces (provincias, singular - provincia).

In alphabetical order, the provinces are: Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, and San Jose. These provinces are divided into 82 cantons, which are further subdivided into 473 districts.

Located in Costa Rica’s western province in the Central Valley is San Jose – the capital, the largest and the most populous city of Costa Rica. It is also the administrative, economic and transportation hub of the country.

Where is Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America. It is positioned in the Northern and Western hemispheres of the Earth. Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua to the north; by the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, by Panama to the southeast and by the Pacific Ocean to the southwest.

Costa Rica Bordering Countries: Panama, Nicaragua.

Regional Maps: Map of North America