A Year of Costa Rican Natural History

e to 180 miles (289 kilometers). The divide is formed by a mountain chain, the main Cordillera, extending from west-northwest to east-southeast, beginning south of the Lake and Isthmus of Nicaragua and continued into Panama. Near Latitude 10 North, the Cordillera is separated by the river valleys of the Reventa- zon (Atlantic side) and Grande de Tarcoles (Pacific side) into a northern and a southern portion, the first termed Cordillera de Guanacaste, the latter Cordillera de Talamanca. A little north of the tenth parallel, the Cordillera de Guana- caste curves to the east, forming three groups of volcanoes known collectively as the Cordillera Central. These groups, from east to west, are: 1,Turrialba (11,224 feet, 3421 meters) and Irazu (11,325 feet, 3452 meters); 2, Barba (9524 feet, 2903 meters); and 3, Poas, formerly called de los Votos (8786 feet, 2678 meters). Irazu is separated from Barba by the pass of La Palma (5098 feet, 1554 meters), Barba from Poas by that of the Desengano (6115 feet, 1864 meters). The principal members of the Cordillera de Guanacaste, going northward, are Tenorio (470x3 feet, 1432 meters). Miravalles (5675 feet, 1730 meters), Rincon de la Vieja or Cuipilapa [4500 (?) feet, 1371 (?) meters], and Orosi (5155 feet, 1541 meters). These also are volcanic in character and To face p. 8 their contours from most points of view, like those of the Cordillera Central with the exception of Turrialba, rise gradually and gently to their summits...