Population
What is the population of your country?The population of Costa Rica, as of July 2014, is about 4,755,234. This equates to about 1.5% of the total population of the United States. The population of the capital of San Jose is just over 1.5 million, which is about 31% of the entire country! To put that in perspective, about 1 out of every 3 people in all of Costa Rica, live in San Jose. The population of the much smaller town of Los Chiles, mentioned in the Climate section, is about 25,000 people, or just 1.7% of the population of the capital, San Jose. To help you grasp your mind around this, the average NFL stadium in the United States seats about 70,000 people...that's almost 3 times the amount of the total population of Los Chiles! As you can see above, most of the population of Costa Rica is located in Urban areas, such as San Jose.
Agriculture
What types of agriculture do they have and what type of diet do they have?
Due to the abundance of rainfall in Costa Rica during the wet months, the agriculture consists of products such as coffee, bananas, sugar, rice, and many other smaller market goods. They also produce many dairy products. In fact, Costa Rica's main milk producer supplies about 85% of the countries milk supply. The main diet of Costa Ricans consists of rice, corn, beans, fish, meat, corn tortillas, fruit, eggs, and dairy products. Good for them. Considering my diet consists of grilled cheese and cereal, I would say they're eating pretty well.
Industry and Tourism
Are industry and tourism related to geography and climate?
Tourism in Costa Rica is most definitely related to geography and climate. The most touristic months in Costa Rica are November through March, with July and August coming in at a close second. This is related to the climate because those are the dry months of the year which have much less rain and are much more attractive to people traveling. I mean, who wants to go on vacation to get drenched? It's geography makes it extremely attractive to tourists because it is located between North and South America with an ocean on both sides. The industry of Costa Rica also relies pretty heavily on geography and climate. As I stated in the Agriculture section, Costa Rica is a major producer of bananas, coffee, rice, and sugar. Without a wet, sub-tropical climate, these goods would not be able to be produced.
Cultural Activities
Are there any notable historical events that add to the climate/culture story?
A lot has happened in Costa Rica's history. From Christopher Columbus to electing the first woman president, there are too many to list. However, arguably the most important historical event in Costa Rica's history came in 1808: the year that coffee was introduced from Cuba and became the principal crop (BBC News). Coffee became the driving force behind the Costa Rican economy. Without it, who knows where the economy would be today. Without the proper climate to grow this coffee, the culture would not have blossomed in the way that it did.
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I didn't realize how much rain Costa Rica have annually! My country is Tanzania, it's cool that both our countries grow some of the same products like coffee, corn, wheat, and bananas.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the people of Costa Rica have a pretty diverse and well balanced diet. I would very openly welcome that sort of diversity of food in my apartment too. Considering my diet consists of grilled cheese, cereal, and granola bars as well and maybe the occasional stir-fry. My country is Zimbabwe, and it seems that you won in terms of diversity as the diet of my country mostly consists of mostly corn porridge, stews, meats, and vegetables. Let's be honest though, that still sounds much better than what we eat.
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