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Guanacaste Conservation Area: An Important Natural Habitat

The Guanacaste Conservation Area is an important natural habitat that maintains biodiversity, including the best dry forest habitats, biological communities from Central America to northern Mexico, and major endangered plants and animals. The terrestrial and coastal environments of this area are crucial for ecological activities, including: evolution, continuation, and restoration of Pacific tropical dry forests; highland migration, other interactive biological and ecological activities, as well as the emergence and development of coral colonies and reefs.

Basic Information about Guanacaste Conservation Area

Chinese Name: Guanacaste Conservation Area

English Name: Area de Conservacion Guanacaste

Inscription Year: 1999, 2004

Selection Criteria: N (ii) (iv)

Geographic Location: N 10°51' W 85°37'

Heritage Number: 928

Geographical Overview

The Guanacaste Conservation Area is located in northwestern Costa Rica, starting from 12 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and extending along the Pacific lowlands, crossing inland, over three volcanoes, and then descending to the lowlands, spanning approximately 105 kilometers. In 1999, the Guanacaste Conservation Area was listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. The reserve covers a terrestrial area of 88,000 hectares and a marine area of 43,000 hectares, with these statistics not including an additional 3,000 to 5,000 hectares that were later incorporated into the protected area. The highest elevation in the Guanacaste Conservation Area is 1,916 meters.

The Guanacaste Conservation Area includes a series of volcanic regions, with the most famous being Rincon de la Vieja Volcano, which has three craters and a lagoon. The last observed volcanic eruption was in the 1970s, but one crater continues to emit steam. Additionally, 32 rivers and 16 geysers originate from the vicinity of this volcano. The western terrain of the protected area is carbonate rock, with the coastal region primarily consisting of sedimentary formations, while saline lakes are commonly found in the coastal areas. The climate in the Guanacaste Conservation Area is hot, with a long rainy season from May to October, annual precipitation reaching up to 1,528 millimeters, and an average annual temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. The period from April to May is the hottest in the reserve.

The Guanacaste Mountain Range (Cordillera de Guanacaste) is a mountain range in northwestern Costa Rica and part of the continental divide. It extends in a northwest-southeast direction for 113 kilometers (70 miles), with its highest point reaching 2,020 meters (6,627 feet). Arenal Volcano erupted in 1968, with volcanic ash covering the entire area, destroying pastures and causing the death of 100,000 cattle. The mountain range in northwestern Costa Rica extends roughly along the border of Guanacaste Province and Alajuela Province in a northwest-southeast direction for about 113 kilometers. It is primarily composed of andesite. There are four notable active volcanoes, with Miravalles Volcano at 2,020 meters being the highest peak in the range. Most of the mountain slopes are covered with forest, while intensive agriculture is practiced near Lake Arenal, cultivating coffee and sugarcane.

Physical Geography

The Guanacaste Conservation Area is located in Central America at 10 degrees north latitude and 84 degrees west longitude. It borders the Caribbean Sea to the east and the North Pacific Ocean to the west, with 1,290 kilometers of coastline (212 kilometers on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 kilometers on the Pacific coast). The northern part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area borders Nicaragua (with a 309-kilometer border), while the southeast borders Panama (with a 639-kilometer border). The total area is 51,100 square kilometers, including 50,660 square kilometers of territory and 440 square kilometers of territorial sea, slightly smaller than West Virginia in the United States and equivalent to Ireland. Costa Rica's terrain consists of coastal plains and rugged highlands in the central region. The country has declared an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and territorial sea of 12 nautical miles.

The climate is tropical and subtropical, with some neotropical regions. Costa Rica's climate conditions are distinctly different, completely overturning the four-season classification. Here there are only two seasons: winter from April to December with abundant rainfall, and the dry season from late December to April of the following year, also called summer. The average annual temperature in the capital San Jose ranges from a minimum of 15 degrees Celsius to a maximum of 26 degrees Celsius; coastal areas have relatively higher temperatures, with the Caribbean region having an average nighttime temperature of 21 degrees Celsius and an average daytime temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

Geological Composition

The Guanacaste Conservation Area in Costa Rica has well-developed strata from the Precambrian to the Mesozoic Triassic period, lacking Mesozoic Jurassic and Cretaceous as well as Cenozoic Tertiary strata. The distribution of strata is roughly bounded by the Pitiao River, with Paleozoic strata in the southeast and primarily Mesozoic Triassic strata in the northwest. Large areas in the southeast expose Silurian Maoxian Group metamorphic clastic rocks, with lithology consisting of gray-green sericite phyllite, silver-gray sandy phyllite interlayered with thin quartzite and thin-bedded, lenticular crystalline limestone. Near the Pitiao River, Devonian and Carboniferous-Permian strata are distributed in bands. The former consists of unmetamorphosed gray and dark gray thin-bedded limestone, argillaceous limestone interlayered with carbonaceous slate and sandstone; the latter consists of medium-thick bedded limestone interlayered with phyllite, carbonaceous phyllite, crystalline limestone interlayered with sandstone and conglomerate. Ordovician gray medium-thick bedded feldspar quartz sandstone, quartz sandstone, and sandy slate are sporadically exposed in the Sanjiangkou area.

Large areas in the northwest are distributed with Triassic strata, with lithology including feldspar quartz sandstone, slate, carbonaceous phyllite, thin limestone, and fine siltstone. Devonian strata are exposed in the anticline axis, with lithology consisting of carbonaceous phyllite, sandy phyllite interlayered with quartzite, and clastic limestone. Small amounts of Carboniferous-Permian strata are distributed in the Dengsheng area, with lithology primarily consisting of carbonaceous phyllite and crystalline limestone interlayered with sandstone. Quaternary loose deposits mainly include fluvial deposits, debris flow deposits, and moraines. Fluvial deposits are mainly distributed in the Pitiao River valley and its tributary valleys. Large amounts of debris flow deposits are distributed at the outlets of debris flow gullies such as Huahongshugou, Longyangou, and Daweijiagou. Ancient glacial deposits are distributed in the ancient glacial valleys upstream of the Pitiao River in the Xiangyangping area and upstream of the Zhenghe River, while modern glacial deposits develop in modern glacial valleys. Additionally, large areas in the northeastern part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area are distributed with Chengjiang-Jinning period diorite and granodiorite. Yanshanian granite is exposed in the Siguniang Mountain area in the west.

Main Vegetation

The most important vegetation in the Guanacaste Conservation Area of Costa Rica is the dry forest region covering approximately 60,000 hectares, where different soil environments and slopes host about twenty different biological zones. The main vegetation types in the Guanacaste Conservation Area include: (a) dominant mixed deciduous forests with some fig trees and mahogany; (b) evergreen trees distributed along rivers and floodplains; (c) grasslands dominated by Hyparrhenia rufa with sparsely distributed shrubs; (d) oak forests and grasslands with Quercus species; (e) mangrove forests. Additionally, there are some beach plants within the reserve.

In the Rincon de la Vieja volcano area, there are four different vegetation types: the first consists of tropical Quercus trees, sapodilla trees, and cedar trees growing in poor, severely eroded soils; the second includes various wetland plants; the third consists of rainforest plants that vary with topography; the fourth consists of dwarf rainforest plants. This forest area is perennially covered by clouds, and due to strong winds and poor soils in the region, trees are generally relatively short. Additionally, the mangrove forests within this area contain 8 species of mangrove trees, and these mangrove forests are well-preserved.

Main Species

According to records, since 1973, the species of vertebrates, insects, and aquatic animals in the Guanacaste Conservation Area have gradually increased. The protected area hosts various animal species of conservation significance, with well-known mammals including white-tailed deer, white-lipped peccaries, Baird's tapir, white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, anteaters, jaguars, ocelots, and jaguarundis. There are more than 500 bird species in the reserve, with the most common species including macaws, American quail, crested guan, blue-winged teal, herons, American storks, ibises, and falcons. Small numbers of spectacled caimans and American crocodiles have also been discovered in the reserve's estuaries. During the sea turtle mating season (October to December each year), over 250,000 sea turtles inhabit the reserve's beaches, with most being olive ridley turtles, green turtles, leatherback turtles, and hawksbill turtles. The Guanacaste Conservation Area hosts more than 12,000 species of nematode insects, over 20,000 species of beetles, and more than 13,000 species of bees.

Historical Significance and Tourism

Hacienda Santa Rosa was built between 1580 and 1600 and was one of the earliest and largest cattle ranches in the region. In 1856, Santa Rosa was the site of the "Battle of Santa Rosa." In 1966, Costa Rica celebrated its independence at Hacienda Santa Rosa. Hacienda Santa Rosa initially focused on raising mules, which were mainly used for transporting goods. Later, the ranch's pastures were primarily used for raising cattle, and beef became food for workers from Nicaragua and Guatemala working in local indigo factories.

Santa Rosa National Park has become the most popular tourist attraction within the Guanacaste Conservation Area, often attracting visitors with its historical monuments and the spectacular gathering of thousands of sea turtles on the beaches. In 1997, the number of tourists visiting Santa Rosa National Park reached 64,000, with half of the visitors coming from within Costa Rica.

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