Costa Rica General Information
Official
Name:
|
Republic of Costa Rica |
Area:
|
51.000 km² |
Geopolitical
Structure:
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7 provinces |
Capital:
|
San José |
Currency:
|
Costa Rican colon |
Language's:
|
The official language is Spanish. English is fairly widely spoken,
and some French, German and Italian is heard. |
Costa Rican National
Symbols
The
national
flag:
Consists of five horizontal bands. The blue band
symbolizes the blue sky that covers Costa Rica like a protective blanket.
The white stands for the peace that characterizes the country as well as the
purity of its ideals. Finally, the red band represents the energy, the
courage and the generosity with which the Costa
Ricans stand up for their principles and ideals.
|
The
national coat of arms:
It shows three volcanoes representing the country's three mountain ranges and a valley. These divide two oceans where
ships are sailing, symbolizing the sea ports of the Pacific and the
Caribbean Ocean. The seven stars stand for the seven provinces of Costa
Rica, and the rising sun commemorizes the birth of the new nation. At the
top of the coat of arms there is an inscription saying: "Central America"!
|
The
national flower:
In Costa Rica, cattleya skinneri is one of the
most common orchids. When in 1937 a vote was organized to choose the
national flower of Costa Rica, nobody was surprised that cattleya skinneri
was the winner. Not only scholars and horticulturists participated in the
vote, but also secondary school and university students.
|
National bird:
The so called Yigüirro (clay-colored robin) was
declared national bird of Costa Rica on January 3rd, 1977, as a tribute to
its powerful and melodious call that signals the beginning of the rainyseason.This bird was chosen especially because it is so familiar to Costa
Ricans as it tends to live near people's homes.
|
National
Tree:
On August 31, 1959, the Guanacaste tree (enterolobium ciclocarpum)
was declared the national tree of Costa Rica. It was chosen as a tribute to
the people of Guanacaste, which was the last province to join the Republic
in 1825. With the giant shade it provides, this tree symbolizes the
protection that Costa Ricans enjoy from the State. The name "Guanacaste"
originates from a native language called "náhuatl" and means "tree of the
ears". This is because the fruits of the tree are similar to the shape ofthe human ear.
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