Costa Rican Central Valley

The Central Valley is a plateau and geographic region in central Costa Rica, spanning the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, San Jose and Cartago and covering about 11,366 square kilometers, more than a fifth of the country's total territory. Though ringed by mountains and volcanoes of the Central Range, the valley floor itself is comparatively flat, and it is drained by two rivers flowing in opposite directions, the Tarcoles to the west and the Reventazon to the east. Four volcanoes, Poas, Barva, Irazu and Turrialba, border its northern side, and the Talamanca Range forms its southern edge; the Carpintera Hills divide the valley internally into a Western Valley and an Eastern Valley, also called the Valle del Guarco. The region holds roughly three quarters of Costa Rica's population and contains the capital, San Jose.