LIMON

province, eastern Costa Rica, bounded on the north by Nicaragua, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by Panama. Although the territory of 3,600 sq mi (9,300 sq km) rises in the south into the Cordillera de Talamanca and contains Chirrip, the highest peak in Costa Rica (12,530 ft ), it is predominantly an area of coastal lowlands. With the heavy rainfall (about 100 in. [2,500 mm] annually), sugarcane and two corn (maize) crops a year can be cultivated. Once dominated by banana plantations of the United Fruit Company, the region suffered from Panama disease in the 1930s, but a disease-resistant variety of banana has been introduced. Limn is the provincial capital. There is a large population of more than 30,000 English-speaking Jamaicans who originally went there generations ago to work on the banana plantations. Pop. (1983 est.) 153,638. capital, Limn province, eastern Costa Rica, on an open roadstead of the Caribbean Sea near the landfall sighted by Columbus in 1503. The waters are deep enough for large ships, and a sandbar offers some protection for the port. In the colonial era, the port was used by Spanish merchants as well as smugglers and was the occasional target of pirate and Mosquito Indian attacks. It began to grow in importance in the late 1850s; about 1867 it was opened to foreign commerce. A railroad through very difficult terrain finally joined Limn and San Jos, the national capital, in 1890. The banana industry was developed along the tracks to provide a cash cargo, and from 1900 to the 1930s the United Fruit Company dominated the area. Although banana production subsequently fell drastically because of Panama disease, it has increased again with the introduction of a disease-resistant variety of banana. Limn handles more freight yearly than any other Costa Rican port (40 percent of the country's exports, chiefly to the United States and Europe), yet it is not accessible from the capital by highway. It does, however, have an airport. Pop. (1983 est.) 53,641.