The Future of Costa Rica

Unique Qualities

Costa Rica’s geography reveals a history of earthquakes, weather and volcanoes shaping its present-day landscape. We have spent ample time over the past few months researching information regarding Rica’s geography and landscape. Costa Rica is part of the Neotropic Eco zone, and has both tropical and subtropical climates. The country is famous for its microclimates, which are created by the variations in weather and temperature seen through the nation. The nations terrain is costal plain divided by mountains; the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera de Talamanca, which is the center of the countries, landscape and separates the pacific and Caribbean oceans.

10,000 years from now

As we have mentioned previously, this nation suffers from a multitude of earthquakes. On average each month, Costa Rica suffers from 100-400 earthquakes a month. From this, we can conclude that in 10,000 years the effects of these earthquakes will be prominent. As a result of the seismic waves that earthquakes release, buildings can be greatly affected depending on the magnitude of the earthquake. For instance, when an earthquake strikes the earth’s crust is easily damaged because of its brittle and thin structure. Buildings are not the only things to fail under the stress of the seismic waves, often unstable regions of hillsides or mountains fail as well. Landslides and liquefaction are likely to occur as a result of the seismic waves.

Photo Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24271329

1,000,000 years from now 

Volcanoes are also a common, yet beautiful, disaster that occurs often in Costa Rica. Volcanoes can change the weather by creating more rain, thunder and lightning. Volcanoes can also have long-term effects on the climate, making Costa Rica cooler. Therefore, in 1,000,000 years the amount of volcanoes that happen yearly may greatly affect the climate and weather of Costa Rica. The lava and ash deposited during an eruption breaks down to provide valuable nutrients to the soil. This creates very fertile soil, which, is good for agriculture. Lava flows can destroy settlements and clear areas of woodland or agriculture. In 1,000,000 years, temperatures in Costa Rica might be cooler because of the sulfur released from volcanoes. Volcanoes can take a toll on livestock as well in 1,000,000 years if they eat, or digest ash from the eruption.

Photo Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/will-drilling-volcano-trigger-eruption-destroys-naples

100,000,000 years from now 

In 100,000,000 years from now due to the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes it killed off the people in Costa Rica. Due to this, nature has had time to replenish and thrive based on the destruction it faced in the years prior. Nature is able to reclaim that peace of earth. Without the care of people to help maintain the environment nature has moved back into the populous areas.

Photo Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/256916353716213402/ 

Conclusion

Over the course of 100,000,000 years Costa Rica will change drastically. Natural disasters have forced the extinction of the human populous in the area and nature has been able to move in and retake the habitat. Buildings have become overgrown with plant life, buildings have collapsed due to the earthquakes. The volcanic ash has provided rich soil for the growth of the plant life and animals have been able to thrive off of their newly formed natural habitats.

internationalliving.com/countires/costa-rica/climate-in-costa-rica/

www.hola.cr/en/costa-rica/info/geography-climate.html). 

www.gfdrr.org/cites/gfdrr.org/files/costa_rica_DRM.pdf

Monteverde Cloud Forest

Costa Rica has an interesting aspect of geography because of its cloud forest. Cloud forests are unique highland forests characterized by 100% humidity. A significant portion of their precipitation is derived from the surrounding clouds and mist. As a result of the moisture abundance, cloud forests maintain tremendous biodiversity, captivating visitors and scientists alike. For the most part, cloud forest zones are significantly cooler than their lowland and beach counterparts, so bring a sweater, light jacket, and your hiking boots to explore these enchanting highland jungles.

Photo Source: http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/the-weekly-photo-cloud-forest/

This picture is an example of a Stratus cloud from the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Stratus clouds are uniform grayish clouds that often cover the entire sky. They resemble fog that does not reach the ground. Usually no precipitation falls from stratus clouds, but sometimes they may drizzle. When a thick fog “lifts,” the resulting clouds are low stratus. It is common to see blue sky above Stratus clouds as they are normally very low clouds.

Photo Source: http://stevekluge.com/geoscience/images/

This picture is an example of a Stratocumulus cloud from the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Stratocumulus clouds usually form at the top of a layer mixed by moderate surface winds. Sometimes, they form from the breaking up of stratus or the spreading out of cumulus. They generally appear as a low, lumpy layer of clouds that is sometimes accompanied by weak intensity precipitation. Stratocumulus vary in color from dark gray to light gray and may appear as rounded masses, rolls, etc., with breaks of clear sky in between.

Photo Source: http://www.fantasyarts.net/visit-costa-rica-and-make-it-as-your-perfect-hangout/

This picture is an example of Cumulus clouds from the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

Cumulus clouds are a genus-type of low-level cloud that can have noticeable vertical development and clearly defined edges. Cumulo- means “heap” or “pile” in Latin. They are often described as “puffy” or “cotton-like” in appearance, and generally have flat bases.

Costa Rican Volcanoes

Costa Rica is a small country but has a lot of active volcanoes aligned like pearls on a chain, caused by the NE subduction of the Pacific tectonic plate under the Caribbean plate. Among the country’s most active volcanoes are Arenal, Poás, and Irazú volcanoes. In Costa Rica there are six active volcanoes and another 61 dormant or extinct ones. Costa Rica is situated firmly on the Pacific Ring of Fire which is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.

Orosi Volcano. Location : Guanacaste National Park Altitude : 4,879 feet above sea level

Sorce of picture: http://www.onthegotours.com/Central-America/Private-Tours/Costa-Rica-Coast-to-Coast

Orosí is one of a cluster of four eroded and vegetated cones in the Guanacaste Range at the NW corner of Costa Rica. Volcán Orosí itself has a conical shape as viewed from the north or west, but its flanks are heavily eroded. The latest documented volcanic activity at Orosí produced mudflows (secondary) about 3500 years ago.

Arenal Volcano. Last eruption 2010. Elevation 5479′

Source of picture: http://geology.com/volcanoes/arenal/

Arenal, a major tourist attraction in Costa Rica, is one of the most active volcanoes of Central America. Since a major eruption in 1968, it has been in near-continuous activity building a lava dome and displaying mild explosive activity from the summit crater.

Poas Volcano. Last eruption 2011. Elevation 8,885′.

Photo source: http://www.villascostarica.com/costa-rica-volcanoes.html

Poás is one of Costa Rica´s most active volcanoes, and one of its most frequently visited and prominent ones. It contains a green acid crater lake and during some of its frequent phreatic eruptions, water from the lake is ejected like a geyser.

Rincon de la Vieja Volcano. Elevation 6,286′. Last eruption 1998. Mountain range Cordillerra de Guanacaste

Photo source: http://www.costaricatravel.tips/listing/rincon-de-la-vieja-volcano/

Rincón de la Vieja is the largest volcano in NW Costa Rica and one of its most active ones.Rincón de la Vieja, sometimes known as the “Colossus of Guanacaste,” has an estimated volume of 130 cu km and contains at least 9 major eruptive centers.

Sources:

http://geology.com/volcanoes/arenal/

http://costarica.com/attractions/rincon-de-la-vieja-national-park/

http://www.arenal.net/arenal-volcano-overview.htm

http://www.arenal.net/costa-rica-volcanoes.htm

Earthquakes and Faults

In Costa Rica’s vast landscape of 19,563 square miles exist many faults. Faults are breaks in rocks that make up the Earth’s crust, along which rocks on either side have moved past each other. Some of the various faults in Costa Rica are:

Photo Source: http://www.thisiscostarica.com/alajuela-costa-rica.html

This photo of the Alajuela Fault, in the Central Valley of Costa Rica is an example of a reverse fault which took place because of compression which caused the fault plane to move upward relative to the rock below.

Photo Source: http://www.intertica.com/land/vicente.htm

This is an example of fault line movement in Chiripa, Costa Rica. This is a normal fault because two blocks of rock were pulled away by tension (extension). In this case, a river was formed through the fault.

Faults create pressure against one another and the release of that pressure results in an earthquake. Costa Rica has had many earthquakes resulting from this.

Photo Source: http://www.costaricantimes.com/being-able-to-predict-costa-rica-earthquakes/23623

An example of an earthquake created by fault lines rubbing against one another took place in Nicoya, Costa Rica in 2012. In this Earthquake, one plate slipped underneath the other which is known as a Subduction Zone.

Earthquakes are common in Costa Rica because of collision and movement of the 2 main tectonic plates around Costa Rica; the Coco’s plate in the Pacific and the Atlantic Plate.

Photo Source : https://www.eeri.org/1991/04/valle-de-la-estrella/costa_rica_1991_liquefaction/

This photo is an example of liquefaction in Costa Rica in 1991 in Puerto Limon. Liquefaction is phenomenon where the strength of soil is decreased by earthquakes. When liquefaction occurs, the strength of the soil decreases and the ability of soil deposit to support buildings and such is reduced as seen in the photo. Liquefaction happens in soil in which the space between separate particles is completely filled with water. This pressure that the water creates causes the particles to weaken and become loose.

Sources :

http://costarica.com/travel/geography-of-costa-rica/

http://www.infocostarica.com/nature/phenomena.html

http://www.costaricantimes.com/being-able-to-predict-costa-rica-earthquakes/23623

www.ce.washinton.edu/~liquefaction/html/what/what1/html

Introduction!

Friends, Family, Classmates, Colleagues, Professors, and the random bloggers who happen to stumble upon this page,

Welcome to our first blog post!  This is a joint blog with the authors Konnar Fitzpatrick and Emily Troxler. We are both aspiring teachers, studying elementary education at the University of Colorado, Denver.

We’ve been tasked with creating this blog in order to document a fictional “field trip” through the geography of a particular location.  We’ve been given the choice to study and highlight any location in the world or that our imagination can dream up.  After determining a mystic unicorn cornucopia was not the ideal study, we’ve decided to narrow our studies around a real location, not too far from our own backyard.  It’s one of astonishing beauty, complex diversity, and creates a sense of awe to all those who visit.  This location, is none other than Costa Rica.

In studying this vast area of complex ecosystems, we hope to gain a greater understanding of why the study of geography is so important, not only for us personally, but also as future teachers, that we may be capable of passing on the knowledge we’ve gained.  Let the journey begin!