OROGRAPHIC CHARACTERISITICS
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is located in the Northwestern region of Costa Rica, in the Tilaran Mountain Range. This mountain range is at the far Northwestern edge of a block of volcanic mountains that runs through Costa Rica and reaches up to 1,534 meters above sea level. The Reserve contains over 4,000 hectares of cloud and rain forests that spread over both sides of the Continental Divide, separating the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds. It adjoins other public and state protected areas, providing a total forest cover of close to 80,000 hectares (198,000 acres, 309 square miles).
At the entrance to the reserve, the elevation is 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). The elevation on the Continental Divide, at a location known as La Ventana (The Window) is 1560 meters (5115 feet). The highest point in the Reserve is Cerro Los Amigos, which reaches an elevation of 1842 meters (6,042 feet). The lowest point in the Reserve is the Peñas Blancas Valley, at 800 meters (2,624 feet). |
CLIMACTIC CHARACTERISTICS
The climate of the Monteverde region is determined by the humid trade winds that enter Costa Rica from the Northeast, moving from the Caribbean to the Pacific. As the pass over the Tilaran Mountain Range, which acts as a barrier to the moisture-laden masses or air, they are pushed upward and cooled, inducing orographic (mountain-induced) rains. As they move down the Pacific watershed they are warmed as they descend..
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The Pacific watershed of Monteverde Biological Reserve generally receives about 2500 mm (100 inches) of rain per year. Precipitation on the Caribbean watershed may total up to 6000 mm (240 inches).
The rainiest months are June, September and October. Temperatures vary all year between 45° and 75° F (10°C and 25°C), with the coldest temperatures occurring in December and January. From December to March the climate tends to be windy and overcast with frequent light rains. By contrast, the Caribbean watershed of Monteverde Reserve, East of the Continental Divide, has a shorter and less pronounced dry season because it receives moisture more consistently and plentifully than the Pacific watershed.
It is recommended that visitors bring comfortable clothing, jackets, strong walking shoes and raincoats, as a precaution.
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BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The surprising biodiversity found at Monteverde Reserve is is a result of the geographic, topographic and climactic conditions there. Its forests contain four ecological "Life Zones" as defined by Dr. Leslie R. Holdridge in his Life Zone Ecological System (bosque pluvial-montano bajo, bosque pluvial Premontano, bosque muy humedo Montano-bajo, bosque muy humedo Premontano). This gives rise to differing ecosystems inhabited by hundreds of species of mammals, birds, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and spiders, as well as a diversity of mosses, epiphytes, vines, and other plants and trees typical of cloud forests.
More information on this topic may be found in the book Monteverde: Ecology and Conservation of a Tropical Cloud Forest, edited by Nallini M. Nadkarni and Nathaniel T. Wheelright.
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