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Guanacaste Conservation Area: A Natural Paradise

The Guanacaste Conservation Area in Costa Rica is an important natural habitat that maintains biodiversity, including the best dryland forest habitats, biomes 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, and the emergence and development of coral colonies and reefs.

Basic Information

Chinese Name: Guanacaste Conservation Area

English Name: Area de Conservación Guanacaste

Inscription Date: 1999, 2004

Selection Criteria: N (ii) (iv)

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

Heritage Number: 928

The Guanacaste Conservation Area is located in northwestern Costa Rica. It extends from a point 12 miles from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, spanning inland along the Pacific lowlands, crossing three volcanoes, and then descending to the lowlands, with a total length of approximately 105 kilometers. In 1999, the Guanacaste Conservation Area was inscribed on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list. The reserve covers 88,000 hectares of land and 43,000 hectares of marine area, though these statistics do not include the additional 3,000 to 5,000 hectares that were later incorporated into the protected area. The highest point in the Guanacaste Conservation Area reaches 1,916 meters above sea level.

The Guanacaste Conservation Area includes a series of volcanic regions, with the most famous being the Rincón de la Vieja volcano. This volcano features three craters and a lagoon, with the most recent observed volcanic eruption occurring in the 1970s. However, one crater continues to emit gases, and 32 rivers and 16 hot springs originate in the vicinity of this volcano. The western terrain of the protected area consists of carbonate rocks, while the coastal areas are primarily sedimentary formations, with saline lakes commonly found in the coastal regions. The Guanacaste Conservation Area has a hot climate with a long rainy season from May to October, with annual rainfall reaching up to 1,528 millimeters and an average annual temperature of 28°C. The hottest months in the reserve are April and May.

The Guanacaste Mountain Range (Cordillera de Guanacaste) is a mountain range in northwestern Costa Rica and part of the continental divide. It extends northwest-southeast for 113 kilometers (70 miles), with its highest point reaching 2,020 meters (6,627 feet). The 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 between Guanacaste and Alajuela provinces, running northwest-southeast 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, and intensive agriculture, including coffee and sugarcane cultivation, exists around Lake Arenal.

Physical Geography

The Guanacaste Conservation Area is located in Central America at 10°N latitude and 84°W 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 (309 kilometers of border), while the southeast borders Panama (639 kilometers of 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 with rugged highlands separating them from the central region. The country declares its exclusive economic zone as 200 nautical miles and territorial sea as 12 nautical miles. The climate is tropical and subtropical, with some neotropical regions. Costa Rica's climatic conditions are distinctly different, completely overturning the traditional classification of four seasons. Here there are only two seasons: from April to December is winter, with abundant rainfall, while from late December to April is the dry season, also called summer. The average annual temperature in the capital San José ranges from 15°C to 26°C, while coastal areas have relatively higher temperatures, with the Caribbean region averaging 21°C at night and 30°C during the day.

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

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 anticlinal axis, with lithology including carbonaceous phyllite, sandy phyllite interbedded with quartzite and clastic limestone. Small amounts of Carboniferous-Permian strata are distributed in the Dengsheng area, primarily composed of carbonaceous phyllite, crystalline limestone interbedded with sandstone. Quaternary loose deposits mainly include fluvial deposits, debris flow deposits, and glacial till. Fluvial deposits are primarily distributed in the Piti River valley and its tributary valleys. Large amounts of debris flow deposits are distributed at the mouths of debris flow gullies such as Huahongshugou, Longyangou, and Daweijiagou. Ancient glacial tills are distributed in ancient glacial valleys in the Xiangyangping area of the upper Piti River and the upper Zhenghe River, while modern glacial tills 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. In the western Siguniang Mountain area, Yanshanian granite is exposed.

Main Vegetation

The most important vegetation within the protected area is the dryland forest region covering approximately 60,000 hectares, where about twenty different biological zones grow in various soil environments and on different slopes. The main vegetation types in the Guanacaste Conservation Area include: (a) dominant mixed deciduous forests with some fig trees and mahogany; (b) evergreen forests distributed along rivers and floodplains; (c) savannas dominated by Hyparrhenia rufa with sparsely distributed shrubland; (d) oak forests and savannas with Quercus species; and (e) mangrove forests. Additionally, the reserve contains some beach vegetation.

In the Rincón de la Vieja volcano area, there are four different vegetation types: the first is tropical Quercus trees, Sapotaceae trees, and Toona plants growing in poor, severely eroded soils; the second is a variety of wetland plants; the third is rainforest vegetation that varies with topography; and the fourth is dwarf rainforest vegetation. This forest area is perennially covered by clouds, and due to strong winds and poor soils, trees are generally relatively small. Additionally, eight species of mangrove grow in the mangrove forests within this area, and these mangrove forests are well-preserved.

Main Species

According to records, since 1973, the species of vertebrates, insects, and aquatic animals within the Guanacaste Conservation Area have gradually increased. The protected area hosts various animal species of conservation significance, with notable mammals including white-tailed deer, white-lipped peccaries, Baird's tapir, white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, anteaters, jaguars, ocelots, and jaguarundis. The reserve contains over 500 bird species, with the most common including macaws, American white-spotted quails, crested guans, blue-winged teals, herons, American storks, ibises, and falcons. Small numbers of caimans and American crocodiles have also been discovered in the estuary areas of the protected area.

During the sea turtle mating season (October to December each year), over 250,000 sea turtles inhabit the protected area's beaches, with most being olive ridley turtles, green turtles, leatherback turtles, and hawksbill turtles. The Guanacaste Conservation Area hosts over 12,000 species of nematode insects, more than 20,000 species of beetles, and over 13,000 species of bees.

Historical Significance

The Santa Rosa Hacienda 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 the Santa Rosa Hacienda. The Santa Rosa Hacienda initially focused on raising mules, which were mainly used to transport goods. Later, the hacienda's pastures were primarily used to raise 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, with visitors often attracted by its historical monuments and the spectacle of thousands of sea turtles gathering 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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