Coastal and shallow marine geomorphology of Costa Rica

Abstract

Costa Rica has coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean side, each with very different geomorphological characteristics. The Caribbean coast is 212 km long. To the north of the port area of Moín-Limón, the coast is rectilinear, with high-energy sandy beaches and coastal lagoons. To the south, fossil reef promontories intersperse with sandy beaches, with only two mangrove forests, numerous seagrass beds, and coral reefs. The Pacific coast is 1254 km long with two enclosed gulfs, Nicoya and Dulce, and open gulfs of Santa Elena, Papagayo, and Coronado. Rocky promontories are made of volcanic or sedimentary rocks, with beaches with many different types of sands in between. Isla del Coco, an oceanic island 500 km offshore in the Pacific, is characterized by basaltic outcrops, many cobble beaches, two sandy beaches, and two bays protected from the predominant southern wave activity.