Costa Rica - officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a Central America country, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica is composed of seven provinces (Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas, and San José, which in turn are divided into cantons. The official country language is Spanish. Like the rest of Central America, Costa Rica never fought for independence from Spain. On September 15, 1821, after the final Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), the authorities in Guatemala declared the independence of all of Central America. That date is still celebrated as Independence Day in Costa Rica. Because Costa Rica is located between 8-12 degrees north of the Equator, the climate is tropical year round. However, the country has many microclimates depending on elevation, rainfall, topography, and by the geography of each particular region. Costa Rica measures only about 280 mi. (450 km) long and 180 mi. (290 km) across at its widest point, there are 7 active volcanoes in the country, with four mountain ranges across this tropical isthmus: Cordillera Guanacaste (northwest area), Cordillera Tilarán (north central), Cordillera Central, and Cordillera Talamanca (the oldest and southernmost mountain range, which features Mount Chirrípo at an elevation of 12,526 ft./3,818 m, the highest point in the country). Costa Rica covers only 0.03% of the terrestrial globe, but shelters > 5% of the existing biodiversity of Planet Earth (9000 plant species, 1000 butterfly species, and 850 bird species) with about 25% of the country dedicated to the national park system or biological, marine and land reserves, as well as other natural wildlife areas.

Still Imagery includes the following:
1) National Parks: Poás Volcano, Tortuguero, Cahuita, Barbilla, Turrialba Volcano, Irazú Volcano, Tapantí, Corcovado, Marino Ballena (Whale Marine), Manuel Antonio, Carara, Marino Baulas (Leatherback Marine), and Arenal
2) National WIldlife Refuges and Reserves: Gandoca-Manzanillo, Golfito, Cabo Blanco Absolute, Carara, Ostional, and Monteverde