Costa Rica is located in Central America 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It stands as a border to both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It also borders Nicaragua to the north and panama to the south. It actually comprises 51,100 sq. km of which 50,660 sq. km is land and 440 sq. km is water, making it slightly smaller than West Virginia.

The terrain of Costa Rica is a coastal plain separated by rugged mountains. It claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles. The country has a tropical climate. Although in the mountains above 2000 meters much cooler temperatures prevail, the average annual temperature for most of the country lies between 21.7°C (71°F) and 27°C (81°F). The coolest months are from November through January, and the warmest from March through May. San José, the capital; where over a third of the population lives, stands at approximately 1170 meters altitude and has a mean annual temperature of 20.6°C. Rainfall patterns, although seasonal, vary deeply in intensity across geographical areas. Some locations receive over 6 mts (18 ft) of rainfall per year, while others receive fewer than 1.5 mts (4 ft).

The topography of the country also has a great authority on the weather patterns of a given locality. As a result the timing of the dry and rainy seasons varies a bit on each slope of the mountain ranges that run from the north-west to the south-east and divide the nation into a Caribbean slope and a Pacific slope.