Geology

The entire landscape of Costa Rica has been shaped by plate tectonics and much of the overall ecologic diversity of the country is due to highly variable geography. Costa Rica is on the boundary line where Pacific's Cocos plate meets the Caribbean 's Crustal plate. As these two come together in a classic example of subduction, the Caribbean plate is pushed under the Cocos plate. As they push against each other, the rocks come under increasing heat and pressure and eventually become molten rock. When this pressure build up becomes too much, both the lava and steam push up to the surface and volcanoes are the result.

Costa Rica has over 600 extinct and active volcanoes, and has one of the youngest surface areas in the Americas. According to geologists, it was only pushed out from beneath the sea 3 million years ago.