VALLE CENTRAL

also called Meseta Central, highland valley in central Costa Rica, containing most of the country's large cities and about 60 percent of the total population. The area of 3,500 square miles (9,000 square km) is actually formed by two basins separated by low volcanic hills, 3,000 to 5,000 feet (900 to 1,500 m) above sea level. The naturally rich soils are a result of the gradual weathering of volcanic material and basaltic lavas from the four volcanoes overlooking the valley from the Cordillera Central to the north. The subtropical forest of precolonial days gave way around 1850 to coffee cultivation, which has leached the soils and reduced their fertility. The higher and smaller basin is drained by the Reventazon River, which flows into the Caribbean. The Inter-American Highway passes through the region, where the capitals of four provinces (Alajuela, Heredia, San Jose, and Cartago) cluster near the convergence of the provincial boundaries.