Limón

Sister cities

• East Point
• Galați

History

Christopher Columbus first dropped anchor in Costa Rica in 1502 at Isla Uvita, just off the coast of Puerto Limón. The Atlantic coast, however, was left largely unexplored by Spanish settlers until the 19th century. As early as 1569, Governor Perafán de Rivera gave extensive plots of land, Indians included, in Matina to aristocrats (hidalgos) that helped to finance and support early conquest. Because these aristocrats found out that only a few Indians were available to exploit, they acquired African slaves to plant these lands with cocoa trees (the only feasible crop in these lands). These lands provided the only source of income to the absentee owners from the capital city of Cartago. Matina gained importance because of the cacao and the presence of African slaves, which made them attractive to pirate incursions. The Spanish left Costa Rica soon after arriving because of Costa Rica's lack of natural resources and isolation from the rest of the major colonial trade routes. Notorious pirates, Edward Mansvelt and his vice admiral Henry Morgan, arrived at Portete, a small bay between Limón and Moín, in 1666. They proceeded inland to Cartago, the capital of Costa Rica at the time, but were driven away by the inhabitants at Turrialba on15 April. The pirate army left on16 April and arrived back in Portete on23 April. They left Costa Rica and did not return. The town was officially founded in 1854 by Philipp J. J. Valentini under government auspices. In 1867, construction began on an ambitious railroad connecting the highlands to the sea. Limón was chosen as the site of a major port, which would facilitate exports of coffee from the Central Valley. During World War II, as part of the Operation Neuland, German U-boat attacked San Pablo, a ship that was being…

Geography

Limón is situated on a cape along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, on the East side of the country. South of the National Route 32, two rivers converge into their drainage into the Caribbean Sea: the Limoncito and the Cieneguita rivers, both of which are surrounded by numerous neighborhoods. Two islands surround the city. The Uvita Island is less than a kilometer East of downtown Limón, while the smaller Isla de Pájaros (Birds Island) lies just north of the nearby Bonita Beach. The district has an area of and an elevation of |source 2 = Meteo Climat (extremes, 1941–present) |date=August 2010 }}

Most-observed species

• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  1,339
• Great Kiskadee

  Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,279
• Great-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus mexicanus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  1,254
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,211
• Black-cheeked Woodpecker

  Melanerpes pucherani (Malherbe, 1849) · Aves
  1,006
• Montezuma Oropendola

  Psarocolius montezuma (Lesson, 1830) · Aves
  890
• Tropical Kingbird

  Tyrannus melancholicus Vieillot, 1819 · Aves
  872
• Olive-backed Euphonia

  Euphonia gouldi P.L.Sclater, 1857 · Aves
  814

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2026-08-01
  7 km SE of Orosi, Costa Rica
• M 4.6 — 2026-02-18
  13 km NNW of Barranco Adentro, Panama
• M 4.2 — 2026-02-07
  16 km NNW of Limón, Costa Rica
• M 3.2 — 2024-08-15
  10 km ENE of Ipís, Costa Rica
• M 4.3 — 2024-04-06
  12 km W of Guápiles, Costa Rica
• M 4.4 — 2024-01-25
  18 km N of San Isidro, Costa Rica