The Cordillera de Guanacaste, also called Guanacaste Cordillera, are a volcanic

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

in northern

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

near the border with

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. The mountain range stretches 110 km from northwest to the southeast and contains mostly complex

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

es. The range forms part of the southern region of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, with the highest peak is the

Miravalles at 2,028 m. Rivers flowing from the range drain into the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

(Guacalito, Zapote) and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

(Blanco, Tenorio, Martirio, Corobiá and San Lorenzo). Protected areas located in the mountain range include Guanacaste National Park established in July 1991 and Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site inscribed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in December 1999. The range contains areas of ecological significance, as the Miravalles Forest Reserve, hills and canyons that can be seen from the lowlands of Guanacaste, areas rich with

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s, ferns and palms; and areas of

geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...

activity, exploited for energy use. Geothermal energy exploited in Guanacaste account to 18% of Costa Rica's electricity and is also exported to

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Cordillera de Guanacaste is divided into two sections: * La Cordillera Volcánica - formed by a series of volcanic edifices that begin with the Orosi Volcano and ends with the Arenal Volcano. *La Sierra Minera - depressions located between Arenal and Tapezco.

Notable peaks

* Miravalles Volcano - * Rincón de la Vieja Volcano - * Tenorio Volcano - *

Orosí Volcano The Orosí Volcano, in Spanish the , is an inactive volcano in Costa Rica, situated in the Cordillera de Guanacaste near the border with Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereig ...

- * Arenal Volcano - Arenal Volcano lies of the edge of Cordillera Guanacaste and

Cordillera de Tilarán Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean. The area is 51,100& ...

References

{{Authority control Guanacaste Central America Volcanic Arc Talamancan montane forests