- published: 02 Jan 2011
- views: 114039
- author: mssx99
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- Alajuela
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Barbados
- Basse-Terre
- Basseterre
- Beijing
- Belize
- Belmopan
- Bolivia
- Bonaire
- Brades
- Brazil
- Bridgetown
- Cabildo (council)
- California
- Canada
- Capital (political)
- Cartago, Costa Rica
- Castries
- Central America
- China
- Circa
- Cockburn Town
- Constituent country
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- De facto
- De jure
- Demonym
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Florida
- France
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadalajara, Jalisco
- Guadeloupe
- Haiti
- Havana
- Heredia, Costa Rica
- Honduras
- Ibo Bonilla
- Indonesia
- Insular area
- Israel
- Jalisco
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jayapura
- Johnny Araya Monge
- Kfar Sava
- Kingston, Jamaica
- Kingstown
- Kralendijk
- La Paz
- Latin America
- Managua
- Mayor
- Metropolitan area
- Mexico
- Mexico City
- Montserrat
- Nassau, Bahamas
- Netherlands
- Nicaragua
- Nuuk
- Okayama, Okayama
- Oranjestad, Aruba
- Ottawa
- Overseas department
- Panama
- Panama City
- Plymouth, Montserrat
- Port of Spain
- Port-au-Prince
- Puerto Rico
- Republic of China
- Rio de Janeiro
- Road Town
- Roseau
- Saba
- Saint Lucia
- San Jose, California
- San José Canton
- San José Province
- San José, Costa Rica
- San Salvador
- Santo Domingo
- Sint Eustatius
- Sint Maarten
- Spanish language
- Taipei
- Taiwan
- Tegucigalpa
- The Bahamas
- The Bottom
- The Valley, Anguilla
- Time zone
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tropical
- Tropical rainforest
- United Kingdom
- United States
- UTC-6
- Washington, D.C.
- Willemstad
- WP IPA for Spanish
-
Alajuela
Alajuela is the second largest city in Costa Rica after the capital, San José. It is also the capital of the namesake province. Because of its location in the Costa Rican Central Valley, Alajuela is nowadays englobed in the conurbation of Great Metropolitan Area (GAM). The city is the birthplace of Juan Santamaría, the national hero of Costa Rica and the figure who gives the name to the country's main international airport, which is located south of Alajuela downtown.
The limits of the city of Alajuela formally corresponds to the canton's first district limits, even though nowadays the city's population and urban area stretches beyond the district limits. The district of Alajuela covers an area of 8.88 km², It lies at an elevation of 952 meters above sea level in the Central Valley, 19 kilometers northwest of San José.
Alajuela's climate is tropical, typical of the altitude of Central Valley, but slightly warmer than San José's. Temperatures are at a moderate 23 – 26 degrees Celsius with a low humidity rate of 20% almost all year round. Alajuela and its surroundings are famed for having "the best weather in the world".
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Anguilla
Anguilla (
/æŋˈɡwɪlə/ ang-GWIL-ə) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla itself, approximately 26 km (16 mi) long by 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 91 km2 (35 sq mi), with a population of approximately 13,500 (2006 estimate).
Anguilla has become a popular tax haven, having no capital gains, estate, profit or other forms of direct taxation on either individuals or corporations.
Anguilla was first settled by Amerindian tribes who migrated from South America. The earliest Amerindian artifacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 BC, and remains of settlements date from 600 AD. The date of European discovery is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island in 1493, while others state that the island was first discovered by the French in 1564 or 1565. The name Anguilla derives from the word for "eel" in any of various Romance languages (modern Spanish: anguila; French: anguille; Italian: anguilla; Portuguese: enguia), probably chosen because of the island's eel-like shape.
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Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda (
i/ænˈtiːɡə ænd bɑrˈbjuːdə/; Spanish for "ancient" and "bearded") is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guinea, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda). The permanent population number approximately 81,800 (at the 2011 Census) and the capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua.
Separated by a few nautical miles, Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17 degrees north of the Equator. The country is nicknamed "Land of 365 Beaches" due to the many beaches surrounding the islands. Its governance, language, and culture have all been strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a part.
Antigua was first settled by Archaic Age hunter-gatherer Amerindians, erroneously referred to as Siboney or Ciboney.Carbon-dating has established that the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the Ceramic Age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.
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Aruba
Aruba ( /əˈruːbə/ ə-ROO-bə, Dutch pronunciation: [aˈruba]) is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km (approx.) east of Guajira Peninsula (Colombia). Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.
Aruba is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten whose citizens share a single nationality: Dutch citizen. Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but for census purposes is divided into 8 regions. Its capital is Oranjestad. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 179 square kilometres (69 sq mi) and is densely populated with a total of 101,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. It lies outside the hurricane belt. It is also home to the endemic Aruba Island Rattlesnake.
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Barbados
Coordinates: 13°10′N 59°33′W / 13.167°N 59.55°W / 13.167; -59.55
Barbados (i/bɑrˈbeɪdɒs/ or /bɑrˈbeɪdoʊs/) is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is 34 kilometres (21 mi) in length and up to 23 kilometres (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about 168 kilometres (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.
Barbados was initially visited by the Spanish around the late 1400s to early 1500s and first appears on a Spanish map from 1511. The Spanish explorers may have plundered the island of whatever native peoples resided therein to become slaves. The Portuguese visited in 1536, but they too left it unclaimed, with their only remnants being an introduction of wild hogs for a good supply of meat whenever the island was visited. The first English ship, the Olive Blossom, arrived in Barbados in 1624. They took possession of it in the name of the British king James I. Two years later in 1627 the first permanent settlers arrived from England and it became an English and later British colony.
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Basseterre
Basseterre ( /bæsˈtɛər/), estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at 17°18′N 62°44′W / 17.3°N 62.733°W / 17.3; -62.733Coordinates: 17°18′N 62°44′W / 17.3°N 62.733°W / 17.3; -62.733, on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands. The city lies within the parish of Saint George Basseterre and the southern part of the parish of Saint Peter Basseterre.
Basseterre is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean. About the origin of the name see Basse-Terre Island.
Basseterre was founded in 1627 by the French, under Sieur Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. It served as capital of the French colony of Saint-Christophe, which consisted of the northern and southern extremities of the island of St. Kitts (the centre was yielded to Britain). When Phillipe de Longviliers de Poincy was made the French governor of St. Kitts in 1639, the town turned into a large, successful port, commanding Eastern Caribbean trade and colonisation. De Poincy then quickly made Basseterre capital of the entire French West Indies colony, which included the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and remained so until his death in 1660. The city was made capital of the entire island of St. Kitts in 1727, following French expulsion from the island and full British control.
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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.
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Belize
Belizei/bəˈliːz/ (formerly British Honduras) is a country located on the north eastern coast of Central America and it is the only country in the area where English is the official language, although Kriol and Spanish are more commonly spoken. Belize is bordered to the north by Mexico, south and west by Guatemala, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and 110 kilometres (68 mi) wide.
With 22,960 square kilometres (8,860 sq mi) of land and a population of only 333,200 inhabitants (2010 est.), Belize possesses the lowest population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 2.21% (2008 est.), however, is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the western hemisphere. Belize's abundance of terrestrial and marine species, and its diversity of ecosystems give it a key place within the globally significant Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages and it is the only nation in the region with a British colonial heritage but as a part of the Western Caribbean Zone, it also shares a common heritage with the Caribbean portions of other Central American countries. In general, Belize is considered to be a Central American nation with strong ties to both the Caribbean and Latin America. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA).
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Belmopan
Belmopan ( /ˌbɛlmoʊˈpæn/), estimated population 20,000 is the capital city of Belize.
Belmopan is located at 17°15′N 88°46′W / 17.25°N 88.767°W / 17.25; -88.767, at an altitude of 76 metres (250 ft) above sea level. Belmopan was constructed just to the east of Belize River, 80 km (50 mi) inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city's near destruction by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. The government was moved to Belmopan in 1970, and its National Assembly Building is designed to resemble a Pre-Columbian Maya temple.
After Hurricane Hattie, with winds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph), destroyed approximately 75% of the houses and business places in low-lying and coastal Belize City, the government of the day proposed to encourage and promote the building of a new capital city. This new capital would be situated on better terrain, would entail no costly reclamation of land, and would also provide for an industrial area. In 1962, a committee chose the site now known as Belmopan is located 82 kilometres (51 mi) west of the old capital of Belize City.
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Bolivia
Coordinates: 16°42′43″S 64°39′58″W / 16.712°S 64.666°W / -16.712; -64.666 Bolivia (i/bəˈlɪviə/, Spanish: [boliˈβja]) officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.
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Bonaire
Bonaire ( /bɒˈnɛər/; Dutch: Bonaire, Papiamentu: Boneiru) is a special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands, consisting of the Caribbean island of Bonaire and, nestled in its western crescent, the uninhabited islet of Klein Bonaire. Together with Aruba and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles. The name Bonaire is thought to have originally come from the Caiquetio word 'Bonay'. The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire, which means "Good Air".
Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution on 10 October 2010, when the island (including Klein Bonaire) became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands.
Bonaire's earliest known inhabitants were the Caquetio Indians, a branch of the Arawak who came by canoe from Venezuela in about AD 1000. Archeological remains of Caquetio culture have been found at certain sites northeast of Kralendijk and near Lac Bay. Caquetio rock paintings and petroglyphs have been preserved in caves at Spelonk, Onima, Ceru Pungi, and Ceru Crita-Cabai. The Caquetios were apparently a very tall people, for the Spanish name for the ABC Islands was 'las Islas de los Gigantes' or 'the islands of the giants.'
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Brades
Brades (or Brades Estate; approx. pop. 1,000) is a village and de facto capital of the Caribbean island of Montserrat since 1998. Brades is located in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat. The official capital Plymouth in the south of the island has been abandoned since 1997 due to the eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano, which buried Plymouth. Interim government buildings have since been built at Brades.
Several names have been suggested for the new capital, which is now being constructed in the Little Bay area. They include Port Diana, in memory of Princess Diana, and St. Patrick's, to commemorate the March 17th uprising and to attract Irish-American tourists.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown ( /ˈbrɪdʒtaʊn/), metropolitan pop 96,578 (2006), is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The City", but the most common reference is simply "Town".
The Bridgetown port, found along Carlisle Bay (at 13°06′22″N 59°37′55″W / 13.106°N 59.632°W / 13.106; -59.632 (Bridgetown port)) lies on the southwestern coast of the island. Parts of the Greater Bridgetown area (as roughly defined by the Ring Road Bypass or more commonly known as the ABC Highway), sit close to the borders of the neighbouring parishes Christ Church and St. James. The Grantley Adams International Airport for Barbados, is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) southeast of Bridgetown city centre, and has daily flights to major cities in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and the Caribbean. While there is no longer local municipal government, it is governed as a political constituency within the national Parliament.
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California
California (pronouncedi/kælɨˈfɔrnjə/) is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third most extensive (after Alaska and Texas). It is home to the nation's second- and sixth-largest census statistical areas (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and San Francisco Bay Area), and eight of the nation's fifty most populated cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland). The capital city is Sacramento.
California's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west, to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east – from the Redwood–Douglas-fir forests of the northwest, to the Mojave Desert areas in the southeast. The center of the state is dominated by Central Valley, a major agricultural area. California contains both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney and Death Valley), and has the third-longest coastline of all states (after Alaska and Florida). Earthquakes are a common occurrence due to the state's location along the Pacific Ring of Fire: about 37,000 are recorded annually.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Cartago, Costa Rica
Cartago is a city in Costa Rica, about 25 km (16 mi) east of the capital, San José. It is at an elevation of about 1435 m (some 4,707 ft) above sea level, at the base of the Irazú Volcano. Cartago is the capital of Cartago province. The city covers an area of 152,68 km². It includes the districts of city downtown: Oriental, Occidental (known as the typical downtown area), San Nicolás (the main entrance to the city, at west), El Carmen (north), Dulce Nombre, San Francisco (at south, San Francisco is known commonly as Aguacaliente), and Guadalupe (Arenilla). The city is part, with the cities of San Rafael de Oreamuno and Tejar del Guarco, of a continuous urban area that, in 2008, had a population of 156,600 inhabitants, according to the Statistics and Census Institute of Costa Rica.
The city was granted a coat of arms by King Philip II of Spain in 1565, and the title of Muy Noble y Muy Leal ("Very Noble and Very Loyal") by the Cortes (Spanish Parliament) in 1814. It served as the first capital of Costa Rica until 1823, when Republican leader Gregorio Jose Ramirez, moved the capital to the bigger city of San José, because Cartago wanted to unite the newly independent province of Costa Rica to the Iturbide's Mexican Empire while San Jose and Alajuela supported a Republican system. The city was severely damaged by major earthquakes in 1822, 1841 and 1910. In 1963, a volcanic eruption of Irazu Volcano which for two years covered San José in ash badly damaged some agricultural areas around Cartago, but not the city.
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Castries
Castries ( /ˈkæstriːz/), population 10,634, aggl. 37,963 (2001-05-12), is the capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean. The district with the same name had a population of 61,341 in 2001-05-22, and stretches over an area of 30.5 square miles (79 km2).
Castries is located in a flood gut and is actually built on reclaimed land. It houses the seat of government and the head offices of many of the businesses both foreign and local. The city's design is in a grid pattern similar to a metropolitan city like New York but on a much smaller scale. It has a sheltered harbour which receives cargo vessels and ferry boats as well as cruise ships. It contains duty free shopping facilities such as Point Seraphine and La Place Carinage; many restaurants which offer varied menus from local to Chinese; supermarkets and many other shopping facilities. The city is well served by a bus system and taxi service.
St Lucia's main post office is located in Castries. Because most parts of the country do not use standard street addresses, mail is largely sent to P.O. boxes. Any mail sent without a town name ends up in the Castries post office.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011. Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.
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Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, (i/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] (
listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. To the north of Cuba lies the United States (140 km or 90 mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on and claimed the island now occupied by Cuba, for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898, and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. A fragile democracy, increasingly dominated by radical politics eventually evolved, solidified by the Cuban Constitution of 1940, but was definitely quashed in 1952 by former president Fulgencio Batista, and an authoritarian regime was set up, intensifying and catalyzing already rampant corruption, political repression and crippling economic regulations.Batista was ousted in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, and a new administration under Fidel Castro established, which had by 1965 evolved into a single-party state under the revived Communist Party of Cuba, which holds power to date.
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Curaçao
Curaçao (Dutch: Curaçao;Papiamentu: Kòrsou) is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao (Dutch: Land Curaçao, Papiamentu: Pais Kòrsou), which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao"), is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its capital is Willemstad.
Curaçao is the largest and most populous of the three ABC islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles. It has a land area of 444 square kilometres (171 square miles). As of 1 January 2009, it had a population of 141,766.
Prior to 10 October 2010, when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, Curaçao was administered as the Island Territory of Curaçao (Dutch: Eilandgebied Curaçao, Papiamentu: Teritorio Insular di Kòrsou), one of five island territories of the former Netherlands Antilles. The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code CUW and the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code CW has been assigned to Curaçao.
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Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [ˈkɔŋəʁiːəð ˈdanmɑɡ̊] ( listen)) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting the country of Denmark in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark proper to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this polity is referred to as the Danish Realm. Denmark proper is the hegemonial area, where judicial, executive, and legislative power resides. The Faroe Islands are defined to be a community of people within the kingdom, and the Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.
Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland and many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.
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Dominica
Dominica ( /ˌdɒmɪˈniːkə/ DOM-i-NEE-kə;French: Dominique; Kali‘na (Carib): Wai‘tu kubuli), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,747 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica had a population of 71,293 at the 2011 Census. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, agriculture and heavy taxation.
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Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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El Salvador
El Salvadori/ɛl ˈsælvədɔr/ (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally 'Republic of The Savior') is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country as well as Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the countries of Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east. Its easternmost region lies on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca, opposite Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador had a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizos.
The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar.
In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama), due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. In addition, tropical forests and overall forest cover has expanded by nearly 20 percent from the year 1992 to 2010. Making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestation.
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Florida
Florida (i/ˈflɒrɪdə/) is a state in the southeastern United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 4th most populous, and the 8th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state capital is Tallahassee, its largest city is Jacksonville, and the South Florida metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern U.S.
Much of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Its geography is marked by a coastline, by the omnipresence of water and the threat of hurricanes. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state to border both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and its terrain is characterized by sedimentary soils. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. Its symbolic animals like the American alligator, Florida panther and the manatee, can be found in the Everglades, one of the most famous national parks in the world.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Greenland
Greenland (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaat, "Land of the Kalaallit";Danish: Grønland) is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and later Denmark) for more than a millennium. Greenland is, by area, the world's largest island. With a population of 56,615 (January 2011 estimate) it is the least densely populated dependency or country in the world.
Greenland has been inhabited, though not continuously, by Arctic peoples via Canada for 4500–5000 years. In the 10th century, Norsemen settled on the uninhabited southern part of Greenland. In the 13th century, the Inuit arrived, and in the late 15th century the Norse colonies were abandoned. In the early 18th century, contact between Scandinavia and Greenland was re-established and Denmark established rule over Greenland.
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Grenada
Grenada (
i/ɡrɨˈneɪdə/) is an island country and Commonwealth realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" because of the production of nutmeg and mace crops of which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.
Grenada was first sighted by Europeans in 1498 during the third voyage of Christopher Columbus to the new world. At the time the indigenous Island Caribs (Kalinago) who lived there called it Camahogne. The Spaniards did not permanently settle on Camahogne. The English failed in their attempt at settlement in 1609.
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Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa]) is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality. The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area includes seven adjacent municipalities with a reported population of 4,328,584 in 2009, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Mexico, behind Mexico City. The municipality is the second most densely populated area in Mexico; the first being Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl in State of Mexico.
The city's economy is based on industry, especially information technology with a large number of international firms having manufacturing facilities in the Guadalajara Metro Area. Other, more traditional industries, such as shoes, textiles and food processing are also important contributing factors. Guadalajara is the cultural center of Mexico, considered by most to be the home of Mariachi music and host to a number of large-scale cultural events such as the International Film Festival of Guadalajara and the Guadalajara International Book Fair and a number of globally renowned cultural events which draw international crowds. It is also home to the Chivas football/soccer team, one of the two most popular in Mexico. This city was named American Capital of Culture in 2005. Guadalajara hosted the 2011 Pan American Games and is currently bidding to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
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Guadeloupe
Coordinates: 16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.25°N 61.583°W / 16.25; -61.583
Guadeloupe ( /ɡwɑːdəˈluːp/; French pronunciation: [ɡwadəlup]; Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is a Caribbean island located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. Its departmental code is "971". As the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also an integral part of the Republic. Besides Guadeloupe island, the smaller islands of Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes are included in Guadeloupe.
As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union and the Eurozone; hence, as for all Eurozone countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. The prefecture and the capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.
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Haiti
Haitii/ˈheɪti/ (French: Haïti [aiti]; Haitian Creole Ayiti [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti), is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti (land of high mountains) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island. The country's highest point is Pic la Selle, at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft). The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi) and its capital is Port-au-Prince. Haitian Creole and French are the official languages.
Haiti's regional, historical, and ethno-linguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the first black-led republic in the world, and the second republic in the Americas when it gained independence in 1804 as part of a successful slave revolution lasting nearly a decade. In 2012, Haiti announced its intention to seek associate membership status in the African Union. Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) to designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.
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Havana
Havana (/həˈvænə/; Spanish: La Habana, [la aˈβana] ( listen)) is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 726.75 km2 (280.60 sq mi) — making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.
Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War.
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Heredia, Costa Rica
Heredia is a city located in the Heredia province of Costa Rica and is the capital of that province. It is currently undergoing a rapid process of industrialization and is located 10 kilometers north of the country's capital, San José.
The city is home to one of the largest colleges in Costa Rica, the National University of Costa Rica, that accepts many international students.
Prior to its founding, the area around Heredia was inhabited by the a native tribe known as the Huetares, who were commanded at the coming of the Spanish by the Cacique Garabito. In 1706 settlers from Cartago, set up a small church at a place they called "Alvirilla", which soon became more populated. Between 1716 and 1717 the settlers moved their village to the north, to a place the Indians called Cubujuquí. In 1736 Heredia was deemed sufficiently large enough to be granted its own parish, and the first incarnation of the Iglesia de la Inmaculada was built to serve as its parish church. In 1751, the Bishop of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Monseñor Pedro Agustín Morel de Santa Cruz supervised the founding of the first school in Heredia, which was run by the church. This school is now known as the Liceo de Heredia. In 1763 the town was promoted to the status of Villa; it was later renamed Heredia in honor of the President of the Audiencia de Guatemala who had conferred the status, don Alonso Fernández de Heredia. During the 18th century the area around Heredia was developed, with the founding of towns like Barva. On October 31, 1796, Padre Felix de Alvarado laid the foundation stone for the rebuilding of the Iglesia de la Inmaculada. The Municipality of Heredia was founded on May 19, 1812, and in 1824 Heredia was promoted to city by Juan Rafael Mora, first President of the Republic. The 1848 constitution made Heredia the capital of Heredia Province, promoted it to cantón, and assigned it seven parishes.
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Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Honduras was home to several important indigenous cultures, most notably the Maya. Much of the country was conquered by Spain who introduced its predominant language and many of its customs in the sixteenth century. It became independent in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule.
Its size is just over 112,492 km² with an estimated population of almost eight million. Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone.
It is notable for its production of minerals, tropical fruit, and recently for exportation of clothing for the international market.
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Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
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Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the 50 U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the U.S. They are called "insular" from the Latin word insula ("island") because they were once administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs, now the Office of Insular Affairs at the Department of the Interior. The term insular possession is also sometimes used.
Because those insular areas that are inhabited are unincorporated territories, their native-born inhabitants are not constitutionally entitled to United States citizenship, under the Citizenship Clause.[citation needed] However, Congress has extended citizenship rights to all inhabited territories except American Samoa, and these citizens may vote and run for office in any U.S. jurisdiction in which they are residents. The people of American Samoa are U.S. nationals, but not U.S. citizens; they are free to move around and seek employment within the whole United States without immigration restrictions, but cannot vote or hold office outside of American Samoa.[citation needed]
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Jalisco
Jalisco (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈlisko]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara. It is one of the more important states in Mexico because of its natural resources as well as its history. Many of the characteristic traits of Mexican culture, particularly outside Mexico, are originally from Jalisco, such as mariachi, ranchera music, tequila, jaripeo, etc. Economically, it is ranked third in the country, with industries centered in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, the second largest metropolitan area in Mexico. The state is home to two significant indigenous populations, the Huichols and the Nahuas. There is also a significant foreign population, mostly retirees from the United States and Canada, living in the Lake Chapala and Puerto Vallarta areas.
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Jamaica
Coordinates: 18°10′57″N 77°19′18″W / 18.1823878°N 77.3217773°W / 18.1823878; -77.3217773
Jamaica (i/dʒəˈmeɪkə/), officially the Commonwealth of Jamaica, is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, and 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno name for the island was Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs".
Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it became an English colony in 1655 under the name "Jamaica". It achieved full independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of state and Queen of Jamaica.Kingston is the country's largest city and the capital.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Jayapura
Jayapura City (Indonesian: Kota Jayapura) is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay (formerly known as Humboldt Bay). Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000.
From 1910 to 1962, the city was known as Hollandia and was the capital of a district of the same name in the northeast of West New Guinea. It was briefly called Kota Baru and Sukarnopura before assuming its present name in 1968. The literal meaning of Jayapura, as of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India, is 'City of Victory' (Sanskrit jaya: "victory"; pura: "city").
The northern part of Dutch New Guinea was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942. Allied forces drove out the Japanese after amphibious landings near Hollandia, from 21 April 1944. The area served as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters until the conquest of the Philippines in March 1945. Over twenty U.S. bases were established and half a million US personnel moved through the area.
In 1945, the Dutch made Hollandia the capital of Netherlands New Guinea. After the territory was handed over to the United Nations, on 1 October 1962, the city became known by the Indonesian name Kota Baru, and retained the name when Indonesia took control, on 1 May 1963. The city was briefly renamed Sukarnopura, after President Sukarno, until the end of 1968, when it acquired its present name.
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Kfar Sava
Kfar Saba (Hebrew: כְּפַר סָבָא, lit. "Grandfather's Village"), officially Kfar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2009, Kfar Saba had a population of 83,600.
Kfar Saba (ancient Capharsaba) was an important settlement during the Second Temple period, and is mentioned for the first time in the writings of Josephus, in his account of the attempt of Alexander Jannaeus to halt an invasion from the North led by Antiochus (Antiquities, book 13, chapter 15). Kfar Saba also appears in the Talmud in connection to corn tithing and the Capharsaba sycamore fig tree. The settlement was probably named after a person called Sava, though this person's importance is not known.
Excavations on the site have revealed the remains of a large Roman bathhouse. In the Byzantine periods the ruins of the bathhouse were first converted into fish pools, and later into some form of industrial installation.
In 1596, the Arab village of Kafr Saba was inhabited by 42 Muslim families. In the 1870s it was described as "a mud village of moderate size with mud-ponds around it and good water in the wells of Neby Yemin, to the east." The Jewish town of Kfar Saba was established in 1898 on 7,500 dunams of land purchased from the Arab village. Despite attractive advertisements in Jerusalem and London, attempts to sell plots to private individuals were unsuccessful, as the land was located in a desolate, neglected area far from any other Jewish settlement. The Ottoman pasha of Nablus, to whose governorate the land belonged, refused to give building permits, therefore the first settlers lived in huts made of clay and straw. They earned their living by growing almonds, grapes and olives. Most of the manual laborers on the land were peasants from Qalqilya. Only in 1912 were permits given and the settlers moved to permanent housing.
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Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States.
The local government bodies of the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew were amalgamated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act of 1923, to form the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). Greater Kingston, or the "Corporate Area" refers to those areas under the KSAC; however, it does not solely refer to Kingston Parish, which only consists of the old downtown and Port Royal. Kingston Parish had a population of 96,052, and St. Andrew parish had a population of 555,828 in 2001. Kingston is only bordered by Saint Andrew to the east, west and north. The geographical border for the parish of Kingston ends at East Street, West Street and North Street.
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Kingstown
Kingstown is the chief port of Saint Vincent, and the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 25,418 (2005) Kingstown is the largest town in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is the centre for the island's agricultural industry and a port of entry for tourists. The city lies within the parish of Saint George in the south-west corner of Saint Vincent. Exports include bananas which are shipped mainly to the United Kingdom, coconuts, and arrowroot. The city contains numerous shops, eating places and markets.
It is built partially on reclaimed land and is the location of many important buildings, including the Financial Complex which was built in 1991 and accommodates the Office of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister as well as those of other departments of government, a Court Office of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and almost all of the governmental ministries.
France started a settlement here shortly after 1722.
The botanical garden, conceived in 1765, is the oldest in the Western hemisphere. William Bligh, made famous from the Mutiny on the Bounty, brought seeds of the Breadfruit tree here for planting, ca 1793.
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Kralendijk
Kralendijk is the capital city and main port of the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands. The language spoken in the town is Papiamentu, but Dutch and English are widely used. In Dutch, Kralendijk means "coral reef" or "coral dike". The Papiamentu name for the town is Playa or "beach". As of 2006[update], the town had a population of 3,061.
Off the coast of Kralendijk lies the uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire, a diving and snorkeling paradise. This small island can be reached by water taxi, or, for divers, by practically all of the local dive operators.
Fort Oranje was built in 1639 to defend Bonaire's main harbor. The fort was extensively modified during the end of the seventeenth century. The English settlement of "Playa" was established adjacent to the fort in 1810. The town was renamed "Kralendijk" by the Dutch colonial rulers in about 1840.
On May 10, 1940, 461 Dutch and German citizens were transported to Bonaire and interned in a camp just south of the fort. After World War II, this camp was converted into a hotel, which is now the Divi Bonaire.
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La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnwes.tɾa seˈɲoɾa ðe la pas]; English: Our Lady of Peace; Aymara: Chuquiago Marka or Chuqiyapu), simply known as La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country (in population) after Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It is located in the western part of the country in the department of the same name at an elevation of roughly 3,650 m (11,975 ft) (the city is built on steep hills) above sea level, making it the world's highest "de facto" capital city, or administrative capital.
While the official capital of Bolivia is Sucre and it is the seat of Justice, La Paz has more government departments, hence the "de facto" qualifier. The city sits in a "bowl" surrounded by the high mountains of the altiplano.
As it grows, the city of La Paz climbs the hills, resulting in varying elevations from 3,000 to 4,100 m (9,800 to 13,500 ft). Overlooking the city is towering triple-peaked Illimani, which is always snow-covered and can be seen from several spots of the city, including from the neighbor city of El Alto. As of the 2001 census, the city had a population of 877,363.La Paz Metropolitan area, formed by the cities of La Paz, El Alto and Viacha, make the most populous urban area of Bolivia, with a population of 2.3 million inhabitants and surpassing the metropolitan area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
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Managua
Managua (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnaɣwa]) is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in 1852. Prior to its inception as the capital city, the title had alternated between the cities of León and Granada. The city has a population of about 2,200,000, composed predominantly of mestizos and whites. Managua is the second most populous city in Central America, after Guatemala City.
Founded in 1819, the city was given the name: Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua. Its original purpose was to serve as a rural fishing village. Efforts to make Managua the capital of Nicaragua began in 1824, after the Central American nations formally attained their independence from Spain. Managua's location between the rival cities of León and Granada made it a logical and ideal compromise site. Modern-day Managua was built in the 1850s on the site of an indigenous community. The city occupies an area on a fault. Seismologists predict that Managua will continue to experience a severe earthquake every 50 years or less. The city's economy is based mainly on trade and industry. Managua is Nicaragua's chief trading center for coffee, cotton, other crops and industry. It serves as an important industrial, commercial, political and cultural center. Its chief products include beer, coffee, matches, textiles, and shoes. Today, Managua is Nicaragua's main political, social, cultural, educational and economic hub. The city is served by the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, the country's primary international airport and regional Brasiles Airport and Punta Huete, military airport, recently renewed.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Mexico City
Mexico City ( /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ ˈsɪti/; Spanish: Ciudad de México [sjuˈðað ðe ˈmexiko], also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.
As an "alpha" global city Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 8.84 million people, and has a land area of 1,485 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the fifth largest agglomeration in the world.
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Montserrat
Coordinates: 16°45′N 62°12′W / 16.75°N 62.2°W / 16.75; -62.2
Montserrat ( /mɒntsəˈræt/) is an island that is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, giving 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of some of its inhabitants.
Montserrat's Georgian era historic capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee because of an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the area around Plymouth, including its docking facilities, and also the area around the former W. H. Bramble Airport on the eastern side of the island, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on February 11, 2010.
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Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau ( /ˈnæsɔː/) is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 (2010 census), 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas (353,658). Lynden Pindling International Airport, the major airport for The Bahamas, is located about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Nassau city centre, and has daily flights to major cities in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The city is located on the island of New Providence, which functions much like a business district. Nassau is the site of the House of Assembly and various judicial departments and was considered historically to be a stronghold of pirates.
Nassau's modern growth began in the late eighteenth century, with the influx of thousands of American Loyalists and enslaved Africans to the Bahamas following the American War of Independence. Many of them settled in Nassau (then and still the commerce capital of the Bahamas) and eventually came to outnumber the original inhabitants.
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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Nicaragua
Nicaragua (i/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
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Nuuk
Nuuk, formerly Godthåb, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America, and the largest city in Greenland. Its present name is the Kalaallisut for "Cape", from its position at the end of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in Greenland. The major cities closest to the capital are Iqaluit and St. John's in Canada and Reykjavik in Iceland.
Nuuk is the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. In January of 2010, it had a population of 15,469, making it one of the smallest capital cities in the world by population.
The site has a long history of habitation. The area around Nuuk was first occupied by the ancient pre-Inuit, Paleo-Eskimo people of the Saqqaq culture as far back as 2200 BC when they lived in the area around the now abandoned settlement of Qoornoq. For a long time it was occupied by the Dorset culture around the former settlement of Kangeq but they disappeared from the Nuuk district before AD 1000. The Nuuk area was later inhabited by Viking explorers in the 10th century, and shortly thereafter by Inuit peoples. Inuit and Norsemen both lived with little interaction in this area from about 1000 until the disappearance of the Norse settlement for uncertain reasons during the 15th century.
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Oranjestad, Aruba
Oranjestad (Dutch, literally "Orangetown") is the capital and largest city of Aruba, which is in the Caribbean north of Venezuela. Oranjestad is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country. In the local language, Papiamento, Oranjestad is often referred to simply as "Playa".
The town was built around Fort Zoutman shortly after it was built in 1796 . Initially the town had no official name, being known only as the town on the Bay of Horses (Paardenbaai in Dutch) - a fitting designation for the place from which many native-bred and raised horses left for neighboring Curaçao. The town has ever since been the capital city of the island. The fort is still one of the town's attractions, others being the tax-free harbour and the Willem III Tower, located near the fort.
The city is named after the first King Willem van Oranje-Nassau (William of Orange-Nassau) - the first heir to the Dutch House of Orange. The name was conferred on the city in the 1820s when interest in Aruba increased due to the discovery of (alluvial) gold deposits.
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Ottawa
Ottawa (i/ˈɒtəwɑː/ or /ˈɒtəwə/) is the capital of Canada. It is the second largest city in Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, located on the north bank of the Ottawa River; together they form the National Capital Region (NCR).
Founded in 1826 as Bytown and incorporated as "Ottawa" in 1855, the city has evolved into a political and technological centre of Canada. Its original boundaries were expanded through numerous minor annexations and ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and major amalgamation in 2001 which significantly increased its land area. The name "Ottawa" is derived from the Algonquin word adawe, meaning "to trade". Initially an Irish and French Christian settlement, Ottawa has become a multicultural city with a diverse population.
The 2011 census had the city's population as 883,391, and the metropolitan population as 1,236,324.Mercer ranks Ottawa with the second highest quality of living of any large city in the Americas, and 14th highest in the world. It is also rated the second cleanest city in Canada, and third cleanest city in the world. In 2012, the city was ranked for the third consecutive year as the best community in Canada to live in by MoneySense.
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Panama
Panama (i/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.
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Panama City
Panama City (Spanish: Ciudad de Panamá) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of Panama. The city is the political and administrative center of the country, and a hub for international banking and commerce. It is considered a Beta World City.
With an average GDP per capita of $11,700, Panama has been among the top five places for retirement in the world, according to International Living magazine.[citation needed] Panama City has a dense skyline of mostly highrise buildings, and it is surrounded by a large belt of tropical rainforest. Panama's Tocumen International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Central America, offers daily flights to major international destinations.
Panama City was chosen to be the American Capital of Culture for 2003 (jointly, with Curitiba, Brazil).[citation needed]
Panama was founded on August 15, 1519 by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila. The city was the starting point of expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru. It was a stopover point of one of the most important trade routes in the history of the American continent leading to the fairs of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo, where most of the gold and silver that Spain took from the Americas passed through. The city was destroyed by a devastating fire, when the pirate Henry Morgan sacked it on January 28, 1671. It was rebuilt and formally established on January 21, 1673 in a peninsula located 8 km from the original settlement. The place where the previously devastated city was located is still in ruins, and has become a tourist attraction known as "Panama Viejo".
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Plymouth, Montserrat
Coordinates: 16°42′23″N 62°12′57″W / 16.706417°N 62.215839°W / 16.706417; -62.215839
Plymouth is the de jure capital of the island of Montserrat, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located in the Leeward Island chain of the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. The town was overwhelmed by volcanic eruptions starting in the 1990s and was abandoned. For centuries it had been the only port of entry to the island.
Beginning in July 1995, a series of huge eruptions at the Soufrière Hills volcano sent pyroclastic flows and ash falls across a wide area of southern Montserrat, including Plymouth. It was immediately clear that the city was in danger; on 21 August 1995, tephra fell on Plymouth, and in December residents were evacuated as a precaution. Residents were allowed back a few months later, but on 25 June 1997, a massive eruption produced pyroclastic surges that killed 19 people and reached nearly to the island's airport on the eastern side of the island. Plymouth was again evacuated.
Between 4–8 August a further series of eruptions destroyed approximately 80% of the city, burying it under 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) of ash. This hot material burned many of the buildings, making inhabitation nearly impossible for a sizable portion of the residents.
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Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 (2000 census), a metropolitan population of 128,026 (1990 unofficial estimate) and a transient daily population of 250,000. It is located on the Gulf of Paria, on the northwest coast of the island of Trinidad and is part of a larger conurbation stretching from Chaguaramas in the west to Arima in the east with an estimated population of 600,000.
Port of Spain is Trinidad and Tobago's most developed city. The city serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre and it has been the capital of the island since 1757. It is also an important financial services centre for the Caribbean and is home to two of the largest banks in the region.
The city is also home to the largest container port on the island and is one of several shipping hubs of the Caribbean, exporting both agricultural products and manufactured goods. Bauxite from the Guyanas and iron ore from Venezuela are trans-shipped via facilities at Chaguaramas, about five miles (8 km) west of the city. The pre-lenten Carnival is the city's main annual cultural festival and tourist attraction.
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Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( /ˌpɔrtoʊˈprɪns/; French pronunciation: [pɔʁopʁɛ̃s]; Haitian Creole: Pòtoprens; Haitian Creole pronunciation: [pɔtopɣɛ̃s]) is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean country of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009.
The city of Port-au-Prince is on the Gulf of Gonâve: the bay on which the city lies, which acts as a natural harbor, has sustained economic activity since the civilizations of the Arawaks. It was first incorporated under the colonial rule of the French, in 1749, and has been Haiti's largest metropolis since then. The city's layout is similar to that of an amphitheatre; commercial districts are near the water, while residential neighborhoods are located on the hills above. Its population is difficult to ascertain due to the rapid growth of slums in the hillsides above the city; however, recent estimates place the metropolitan area's population at around 3.7 million, nearly half of the country's national population.
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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (/ˌpɔrtə ˈriːkoʊ/ or /ˌpwɛərtə ˈriːkoʊ/), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, [esˈtaðo ˈlibɾe asoˈsjaðo ðe ˈpweɾto ˈriko]—literally, "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"), is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") comprises an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area of the Greater Antilles. However, it ranks third in population amongst that group of four islands, which also include Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Jamaica. Due to its location, Puerto Rico enjoys a tropical climate and also experiences the Atlantic hurricane season.
Originally populated for centuries by indigenous aboriginal peoples known as Taínos, the island was claimed by Christopher Columbus for Spain during his second voyage to the Americas on November 19, 1493. Under Spanish rule, the island was colonized and the indigenous population was forced into slavery and nearly wiped out due to, among other things, European infectious diseases. The remaining population was emancipated by King Charles I in 1520. Spain possessed Puerto Rico for over 400 years, despite attempts at capture of the island by the French, Dutch, and British. The Spanish Crown, in an attempt to keep Puerto Rico from gaining its independence, revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. The decree was printed in three languages — Spanish, English and French — and it fostered the immigration of hundreds of non-Spanish European families.
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Republic of China
Taiwan (i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
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Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/ or /ˈriːoʊ deɪ dʒəˈnɛəroʊ/; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈʁi.u dʒi ʒaˈnejɾu],River of January), commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world.
The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1815 during the Portuguese colonial era, 1815 to 1821 as the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, and 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. Rio is nicknamed the Cidade Maravilhosa or "Marvelous City."
Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country (and 30th largest in the world in 2008), estimated at about R$ 343 billion (IBGE/2008) (nearly US$ 201 billion), and is the headquarters of two major Brazilian companies – Petrobras and Vale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific production – according to 2005 data.
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Road Town
Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 9,400 in 2004.
The name is derived from the nautical term "the roads", a place less sheltered than a harbor but which ships can easily get to. A 28 hectare (70 acre) development called Wickham's Cay, consisting of two areas that were reclaimed from the sea and a marina have enabled Road Town to emerge as a haven for yacht chartering and a centre of tourism. This area is the newest part of the city and the hub for the new commercial and administrative buildings of the BVI. The oldest building in Road Town, the HM Prison on Main Street, dates from the 1840s.
Road Town is one of the principal centres for bareboating (self-hire yacht chartering) in the Caribbean. Many successful yacht-charter businesses operate from Road Town, especially BVI Yacht Charters, Bareboat BVI and The Moorings . Cruise ships can be often seen docked here as well.
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Roseau
Roseau (Kwéyòl: Wozo) is the capital and largest city of Dominica. With a population of 14,847 (2001 census), it is a small and compact urban settlement, located within the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and Morne Bruce. Built on the site of the ancient Kalinago Indian village of Sairi, it is the oldest and most important urban settlement on the island.
It is located on the west (leeward) coast of Dominica, and is a combination of modern and colonial (French Style) architecture.
Roseau is Dominica's most important port for foreign trade. Some exports include bananas, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges and cocoa. The service sector is also a large part of the local economy.
There is a prominent diocese called Roman Catholic Diocese of Roseau.
The city of Roseau sits on an alluvial fan formed hundreds of years ago as the river after which it was named meandered across the area from what is now known as Newtown to its current location. Over the last two thousand years Amerindians migrating through the islands settled the area attracted by the nearby river. With the arrival of the Europeans on the island in the 16th and 17th centuries, a small settlement was established by the French who in their tradition of naming places after what they found there named the settlement with their name for the river reeds which grew along the river banks. A plan was created for the settlement which mirrored examples in France where streets extended from a central point at what is today the Old Market and extended out to the rest of the settlement.
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Saba
Saba ( /ˈseɪbə/) is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the potentially active volcano Mount Scenery (877 m), the highest point within both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Netherlands proper.
Saba, including the islet of Green Island, became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010.
The island has a land area of 13 km² (5 sq. miles). At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population was 1,824 inhabitants, which means a population density of 140 inhabitants per km². Its current major towns and settlements include The Bottom (the capital), Windwardside, Hell's Gate and St. Johns.
As the island is part of the Netherlands, Dutch is the official language. Despite the island's Dutch affiliation, English is the principal language spoken on the island and has been used in its school system since the 19th century. English can therefore be used in communications of and to the government although there is a local dialect. Since January 1, 2011, the U.S. dollar has been the official currency, replacing the Netherlands Antillian Guilder.
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Saint Lucia
Saint Luciai/seɪnt ˈluːʃə/ (French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries. Two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis, an economist, and Derek Walcott, a poet and playwright, have come from the island. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after the Faroe Islands.
One of the Windward Islands, it was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib people in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".
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San Jose, California
San Jose ( /ˌsæn hoʊˈseɪ/; Spanish: St. Joseph) is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The San Jose/Silicon Valley area is a major component of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.6 million people and the sixth largest metropolitan area (CSA) in the United States. It is also the most populous city in Northern California.
San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777, as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first civilian town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California, which later became Alta California. The city served as a farming community to support Spanish military installations at San Francisco and Monterey. When California gained statehood in 1850, San Jose served as its first capital.
After more than 150 years as a small farming city, San Jose and the surrounding Santa Clara Valley became the last (and largest) contiguous area of undeveloped land surrounding the San Francisco Bay. San Jose experienced increased demand for housing from soldiers and veterans returning from World War II. San Jose then continued its aggressive expansion during the 1950s and 1960s by annexing more land area. The rapid growth of the high-technology and electronics industries further accelerated the transition from an agricultural center, to an urbanized metropolitan area.
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San José, Costa Rica
San José ("Saint Joseph", Spanish: San José, pronounced: [saŋ xoˈse]) is the capital of Costa Rica, head of the province of San José, and the nation's largest city. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. The population of San José Canton is 365,799, though the metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and comprises a third of the country's population.
Culturally, the city can be considered almost entirely European influenced, in part because of Spanish immigration soon after Costa Rica's discovery by Christopher Columbus, and the privileged classes which generally studied in Europe during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. This can be seen in the architecture of the city, namely theaters, museums and houses in the city center. It is named in honor of Joseph of Nazareth.
San José is a city with an interesting mix of history and modernity. Even though the city's center is almost uninhabited, it is the most important working area of the country, which brings in more than a million people daily. Despite its problems, according to studies in Latin America, San José is still one of the safest, purist, and less violent cities in the region. In 2006 the city was appointed Ibero-American Capital of Culture.
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San Salvador
The city of San Salvador (English: "Holy Saviour") is the capital city of the Republic of El Salvador. San Salvador is a part of the San Salvador Department, one of fourteen in the nation. San Salvador is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center. As a "gamma" global city, San Salvador is one of the most important financial centers in Central America. It is located in the Salvadoran highlands, surrounded by volcanoes and prone to earthquakes, which is why the Pipil and the Spaniards called the area in which the city is located "el valle de las hamacas" (the valley of the hammocks, "salcoatitan" in Pipil language). The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 540,000 people (2.3million metropolitan), making it the third largest Central American city and the second largest metropolitan area. San Salvador is nicknamed "San Sivar" by Salvadorans.
Before the Spanish conquest, the Pipil peoples established their capital, Cuzcatlán, near the current location of San Salvador. Not much is known about Cuzcatlán, as it was abandoned by its inhabitants in an effort to avoid Spanish rule.
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Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,712,391 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River. Founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1496, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World. It lies within the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional (D.N.; "National District"), itself bordered on three sides by Santo Domingo Province.
Santo Domingo was called "Ciudad Trujillo", from 1930 to 1961, after the Dominican Republic's dictator, Rafael Trujillo, named the capital after himself. Following his assassination, the city resumed its original designation. Today, Santo Domingo is the Dominican Republic's major metropolis, and is the largest city in the Caribbean by population.[citation needed] Santo Domingo is ranked as a Gamma world city by Loughborough University.
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Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius, also known affectionately to the locals as Statia/ˈsteɪʃə/ or Statius, is a Caribbean island and a special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands.
It lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands and immediately to the northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis and to the southeast of Saba, at 17°30′N 62°58′W / 17.5°N 62.967°W / 17.5; -62.967. The island is named after the legendary Christian martyr Saint Eustace. The regional capital is Oranjestad.
The island has an area of 21 km² (8.1 sq. miles). In the 2001 census, the population was recorded as 3,543 inhabitants, equating to a population density of 169 inhabitants per square kilometre. The official language is Dutch, however English is also recognised as an administrative language. A local English-based creole is also spoken informally. Travel to the island by air is through F.D. Roosevelt Airport.
Formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010.
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Taipei
Taipei City (/ˌtaɪˈpeɪ/; [tʰǎipèi]; Chinese: 臺北市 or 台北市; pinyin: Táiběi Shì) is the capital of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Situated at the northern tip of the island of Taiwan, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River; it is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, a port city on the Pacific Ocean. It lies in the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung (基隆河) and Xindian (新店溪) rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border. The city proper (Taipei City) is home to an estimated 2,618,772 people. Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung together form the Taipei metropolitan area with a population of 6,900,273. However, they are administered under different local governing bodies. "Taipei" sometimes refers to the whole metropolitan area, while "Taipei City" refers to the city proper. Taipei City proper is surrounded on all sides by New Taipei.
Taipei is the political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan. The National Palace Museum which has one of the largest collections of Chinese artifacts and artworks in the world is located in Taipei. Considered to be a global city, Taipei is part of a major industrial area. Railways, high speed rail, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Taipei Songshan and Taiwan Taoyuan.
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Taiwan
Taiwan (i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
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Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa (Spanish pronunciation: [teɣusiˈɣalpa], formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District Spanish: Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.), and commonly referred as Tegus, is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto. The current Constitution of Honduras, enacted in 1982, names the sister cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela as a Central District to serve as the permanent national capital, under articles 8 and 295.
During the short-lived Constitution of the Republic of Central America of 1921, Tegucigalpa served as a Federal District and capital of then-newly formed as one nation: the states of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. After this failed attempt to maintain a Central American republic, Honduras returned to become an individual sovereign nation and on January 30, 1937, Article 179 of the 1936 Honduran Constitution was reformed under Decree 53 to established Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela as a Central District.
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The Bahamas
The Bahamasi/bəˈhɑːməz/, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country consisting of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, the Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
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The Bottom
The Bottom is the capital and largest town of the island of Saba, the Caribbean Netherlands, and is the first stop on the way from Saba's Port in Fort Bay towards the rest of the island. It has approximately 500 inhabitants of the total 1,424 islanders.
The Bottom is home to the government offices, a hospital, a nursing home, a sports field, three churches, a library, various shops and the Saba University School of Medicine. The Bottom is also home to the Saba Carnival which is held once a year during the summer, as well as Saba Day in December.
As capital of the island, The Bottom hosts a number of events throughout the year. During the summer the 'Saba Carnival' is held here. It's a parade full of colour accompanied with the music of steel drums and local artists. It is a highly anticipated event on the Saban calendar as most of the island meets together to dance, sing and enjoy the festival. The Saba Carnival usually lasts for a few days in which the island rotates around this town.
Another event held in the Bottom is 'Saba Day'. This is the national day of the island in which all offices, schools and stores are closed. The island celebrates its diversity and culture through various activities and parades. The Bottom holds host to a concert at the sports field where local and other Caribbean artists come to perform. There are fishing competitions at sea, drawing competitions for children etc.
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The Valley, Anguilla
The Valley is the capital of Anguilla and the main "town" on the island. As of 2001[update], it has a population of 1,169.
The Valley has few examples of colonial architecture due to the relocation of Anguilla's administration to St. Kitts in 1825, though Wallblake House, built in 1787, still stands and is used as a rectory by the adjacent church. New shops have opened in new buildings and renovated West Indian-style cottages. Old shops have been modernized and have enlarged their stocks as well as their space.
The ruins of the Old Court House are located on Crocus Hill, the island's highest point. All that remains are the broken walls of a few basement jail cells. At Cross Roads at the western edge of The Valley is Wallblake House, a plantation home built around 1787 that is now owned by the Catholic Church (the parish priest lives there) and St. Gerard's Catholic Church, with its highly original facade of pebbles, stones, cement, wood and tile.
The Valley is served by Anguilla Wallblake Airport (IATA: AXA, ICAO: TQPF) with some international flights.
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Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (i/ˌtrɪnɨdæd/ & /tɵˈbeɪɡoʊ/) officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.
The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands, comprising about 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population of the country. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.
The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Trinidad and Tobago was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a federal district to become the national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The District is therefore not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846.
A new capital city named after George Washington was founded in 1791 to the east of the preexisting port of Georgetown. Congress consolidated the City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area within the District under a single municipal government in 1871. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, located on the country's Pacific coast.
Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 617,996 in 2011. The city was the 24th most populous place in the United States as of 2010. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's population to over one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of nearly 5.6 million, the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country.
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Willemstad
Willemstad (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪ.ləm.ˌstɑt]) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of the city consists of two quarters: Punda and Otrobanda. They are separated by the St. Anna bay, an inlet that leads into the large natural harbour called the 'Schottegat'.
Punda was established in 1634, when the Dutch captured the island from Spain. The original name of Punda was de punt in Dutch. Otrobanda, which was founded in 1707, is the newer section of the city and is considered to be the cultural center of Willemstad. Its name originated from the Papiamentu otro banda, which means "the other side." Punda and Otrobanda are connected by Queen Emma Bridge, a long bridge of boats. Although still in use, these days most road traffic now uses the Queen Juliana Bridge built in 1967 (rebuilt 1974) which arches high over the bay further inland. Nearby is also the now non-functioning Queen Wilhelmina Bridge draw bridge.
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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Johnny Araya Monge
Johnny Araya Monge (April 29, 1957 -) is a Costa Rican politician and mayor of the capital city of Costa Rica, San Jose. He is from the "Liberacion Nacional" political party.
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Taiwan
Taiwan (i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
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San Jose Downtown Costa Rica 1080 50p Full HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:04
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica. One thing which really stroke me was that it was really impossible to find a good restaurant there... Even Paying a 100$ for 2 Persons which is quite a bit considering the low wages there....
http://wn.com/San_Jose_Downtown_Costa_Rica_1080_50p_Full_HD
San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica. One thing which really stroke me was that it was really impossible to find a good restaurant there... Even Paying a 100$ for 2 Persons which is quite a bit considering the low wages there....
Costa Rica Chronicles- Excerpt Diez- Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:48
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
Getting some footage of Avenida Central in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica to try to capture the vibe. If you dig what I do, please donate what you can through Paypal to robinsonderek@hotmail.com and receive my new book, "Breathe" as a token of my appreciation. Cheers, Layden.
http://wn.com/Costa_Rica_Chronicles_Excerpt_Diez_Downtown_San_Jose,_Costa_Rica
Getting some footage of Avenida Central in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica to try to capture the vibe. If you dig what I do, please donate what you can through Paypal to robinsonderek@hotmail.com and receive my new book, "Breathe" as a token of my appreciation. Cheers, Layden.
- published: 17 Mar 2012
- views: 1408
- author: Layden Robinson
San Jose, Costa Rica Walking Tour w/ Barrio Bird
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:49
- Updated: 19 Oct 2012
GetTONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO and VIDEOS at TravelCostaRicaNOW.com HEY EVERYONE! In our opinion, San Jose Costa Rica often gets a BUM rap. Many travel books and internet sites say San Jose isn't really worth a look see. We beg to differ- San Jose is quite interesting if given the CHANCE. And what better way to see San Jose than by walking. We hooked up with Stacy from Barrio Bird Walking tours and although D'Angelo and I have been to San Jose dozens of times, Stacy provided us with a much needed education and background on some of the more notable aspects of San Jose. If you got a few hours, we would encourage you to CHECK out San Jose- we think you just might be pleasantly SURPRISED. You can find out more about these walking tours here - http or by visiting their site here: BarrioBird.blogspot.com For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- http michael alan's blog - www.DoingCostaRica.blogspot.com Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
http://wn.com/San_Jose,_Costa_Rica_Walking_Tour_w_Barrio_Bird
GetTONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO and VIDEOS at TravelCostaRicaNOW.com HEY EVERYONE! In our opinion, San Jose Costa Rica often gets a BUM rap. Many travel books and internet sites say San Jose isn't really worth a look see. We beg to differ- San Jose is quite interesting if given the CHANCE. And what better way to see San Jose than by walking. We hooked up with Stacy from Barrio Bird Walking tours and although D'Angelo and I have been to San Jose dozens of times, Stacy provided us with a much needed education and background on some of the more notable aspects of San Jose. If you got a few hours, we would encourage you to CHECK out San Jose- we think you just might be pleasantly SURPRISED. You can find out more about these walking tours here - http or by visiting their site here: BarrioBird.blogspot.com For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- http michael alan's blog - www.DoingCostaRica.blogspot.com Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
- published: 22 May 2010
- views: 8428
- author: Michael Alan D'Angelo
San Jose, Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:09
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Downtown San Jose... and some of its 19th century architecture
http://wn.com/San_Jose,_Costa_Rica
Downtown San Jose... and some of its 19th century architecture
- published: 01 Feb 2008
- views: 81093
- author: imaginacionloca
Tour en San José, Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:53
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
A little tour in the capital of Costa Rica. This is the way that I've to take to go to my job.
http://wn.com/Tour_en_San_José,_Costa_Rica
A little tour in the capital of Costa Rica. This is the way that I've to take to go to my job.
- published: 02 Jun 2011
- views: 5340
- author: Andrés Salas Ramos
San Jose Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:59
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
TravelCostaRicaNOW.com San Jose Costa Rica gets a bad rap and truthfully, we used to give it a bad rap as well. That is until we began exploring San Jose a little more. We don't think you should necessarily stay in San Jose at the expense of the rest of your Costa Rican vacation, because Costa Rica just is too beautiful and diverse to spend the entire time in San Jose. But if your there a few nights, there's plenty to do and to see. Museums such as the Gold Museum, Jade Museum and the Childrens Museum to name a few or enjoy some top rate music and plays at the National Theatre. The markets, people watching, shopping, various parks, and day trips are just a few of the things to do to while in San Jose, and the night life could rival any big city's. It's also not true that you can't find good restaurants, because you can. (We love Tin Jo). Anyway, here's just a little montage of the sights, people and things to do in San Jose. EnJoY!
http://wn.com/San_Jose_Costa_Rica
TravelCostaRicaNOW.com San Jose Costa Rica gets a bad rap and truthfully, we used to give it a bad rap as well. That is until we began exploring San Jose a little more. We don't think you should necessarily stay in San Jose at the expense of the rest of your Costa Rican vacation, because Costa Rica just is too beautiful and diverse to spend the entire time in San Jose. But if your there a few nights, there's plenty to do and to see. Museums such as the Gold Museum, Jade Museum and the Childrens Museum to name a few or enjoy some top rate music and plays at the National Theatre. The markets, people watching, shopping, various parks, and day trips are just a few of the things to do to while in San Jose, and the night life could rival any big city's. It's also not true that you can't find good restaurants, because you can. (We love Tin Jo). Anyway, here's just a little montage of the sights, people and things to do in San Jose. EnJoY!
- published: 03 Oct 2009
- views: 21896
- author: Michael Alan D'Angelo
Finding a Bus in San Jose, Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:50
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
Leaving the capital I need to catch a bus to the Panamanian border but am having a hard time finding the proper station. The city has multiple stations and I can't seem to find the one that takes me to the Caribbean side. Check out my other channel @ www.youtube.com WEBSITE: www.intransit.tv TWITTER www.twitter.com
http://wn.com/Finding_a_Bus_in_San_Jose,_Costa_Rica
Leaving the capital I need to catch a bus to the Panamanian border but am having a hard time finding the proper station. The city has multiple stations and I can't seem to find the one that takes me to the Caribbean side. Check out my other channel @ www.youtube.com WEBSITE: www.intransit.tv TWITTER www.twitter.com
- published: 24 Jul 2010
- views: 4658
- author: intransitTV
Mercado Central Central Market San Jose Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:29
- Updated: 08 Nov 2012
TONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO & VIDEOS at: TravelCostaRicaNOW.com Hey Everyone, San Jose often gets a bad rap, and personally, I don't think it's deserved. Anyway, the Central Market is pretty much in the middle of San Jose, but is it worth a visit, or should you cross it off your San Jose 'to see' list? We took our camera and videotaped some of the market and in this video we'll let you know what we think about the Central Market in San Jose. Check it out and as always, Hope it Helps. We cruise all over Costa Rica and you should cruise our video's, more often than not, they'll have INFO that just may be the difference between a so-so vacation and the vacation of a lifetime. EnJoY and don't be afraid to leave comments, they're helpful as well. For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- http michael alan's blog - www.DoingCostaRica.blogspot.com Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.blogspot.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
http://wn.com/Mercado_Central_Central_Market_San_Jose_Costa_Rica
TONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO & VIDEOS at: TravelCostaRicaNOW.com Hey Everyone, San Jose often gets a bad rap, and personally, I don't think it's deserved. Anyway, the Central Market is pretty much in the middle of San Jose, but is it worth a visit, or should you cross it off your San Jose 'to see' list? We took our camera and videotaped some of the market and in this video we'll let you know what we think about the Central Market in San Jose. Check it out and as always, Hope it Helps. We cruise all over Costa Rica and you should cruise our video's, more often than not, they'll have INFO that just may be the difference between a so-so vacation and the vacation of a lifetime. EnJoY and don't be afraid to leave comments, they're helpful as well. For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- http michael alan's blog - www.DoingCostaRica.blogspot.com Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.blogspot.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
- published: 07 Jun 2009
- views: 12552
- author: Michael Alan D'Angelo
San Jose Costa Rica Capital City Central Valley Urban Hispanic Latin America by BK Bazhe.com
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:58
- Updated: 13 Nov 2012
San José Costa Rica - www.BAZHE.com San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, the city is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San José is one of the youngest capital cities in Latin America. BKBAZHE is a writer, poet, and artist. He is the author of DAMAGES (creative nonfiction) —Winner in the Writers Digest Awards and IDENTITIES (poetry). He is published and exhibited in Europe and America. More info at BK Bazhe Website: www.bazhe.com Amazon Books & Art by BK Bazhe astore.amazon.com YouTube Videos by BK Bazhe: www.youtube.com Google Blog by BK Bazhe: bazhe.blogspot.com
http://wn.com/San_Jose_Costa_Rica_Capital_City_Central_Valley_Urban_Hispanic_Latin_America_by_BK_Bazhecom
San José Costa Rica - www.BAZHE.com San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, the city is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San José is one of the youngest capital cities in Latin America. BKBAZHE is a writer, poet, and artist. He is the author of DAMAGES (creative nonfiction) —Winner in the Writers Digest Awards and IDENTITIES (poetry). He is published and exhibited in Europe and America. More info at BK Bazhe Website: www.bazhe.com Amazon Books & Art by BK Bazhe astore.amazon.com YouTube Videos by BK Bazhe: www.youtube.com Google Blog by BK Bazhe: bazhe.blogspot.com
- published: 30 Jul 2010
- views: 10642
- author: BAZHE
Bochinche GAY Bar San Jose Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:27
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
TravelCostaRicaNow.com Hey Guys! Downtown San Jose has plenty of gay bars and clubs to choose from but the ones usually mentioned are La Avispa, Club Oh, Energy, Pucho's and this lounge and bar- BOCHINCHE's. We've been going to Bochinche's for a long time now. Whether to dance, check out the HOT local gay Ticos, or take in a drag show- Bochinche's is good place to GO. We ALWAYS have fun here. So check OUT this review of Bochinche's Lounge and Bar - club - if you think you may be interested in hitting the gay scene while in San Jose. Enjoy. Formore helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- http michael alan's blog - www.DoingCostaRica.blogspot.com Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.blogspot.com
http://wn.com/Bochinche_GAY_Bar_San_Jose_Costa_Rica
TravelCostaRicaNow.com Hey Guys! Downtown San Jose has plenty of gay bars and clubs to choose from but the ones usually mentioned are La Avispa, Club Oh, Energy, Pucho's and this lounge and bar- BOCHINCHE's. We've been going to Bochinche's for a long time now. Whether to dance, check out the HOT local gay Ticos, or take in a drag show- Bochinche's is good place to GO. We ALWAYS have fun here. So check OUT this review of Bochinche's Lounge and Bar - club - if you think you may be interested in hitting the gay scene while in San Jose. Enjoy. Formore helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- http michael alan's blog - www.DoingCostaRica.blogspot.com Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.blogspot.com
- published: 03 Oct 2009
- views: 45475
- author: Michael Alan D'Angelo
La Amistad Hotel San Jose Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:26
- Updated: 18 Jul 2012
GetTONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO and VIDEOS at TravelCostaRicaNOW.com HEY EVERYONE! We got a chance to stay at Hotel La Amistad in San Jose Costa Rica. Hotel La Amistad is a renovated mansion situated between Barrios Amon and Otoya just north of San Jose. These barrios are away from the hustle and bustle of San Jose, but still only a short walk to all of the city's main attractions- The National Theatre, Museums, Shops, Restaurants, Casino's, Nightlife and various Parks. Check out our video to see what we thought about Hotel La Amistad. For more on Hotel La Amistad - http For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- www.TravelCostaRicaNow.com michael alan's blog - http Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
http://wn.com/La_Amistad_Hotel_San_Jose_Costa_Rica
GetTONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO and VIDEOS at TravelCostaRicaNOW.com HEY EVERYONE! We got a chance to stay at Hotel La Amistad in San Jose Costa Rica. Hotel La Amistad is a renovated mansion situated between Barrios Amon and Otoya just north of San Jose. These barrios are away from the hustle and bustle of San Jose, but still only a short walk to all of the city's main attractions- The National Theatre, Museums, Shops, Restaurants, Casino's, Nightlife and various Parks. Check out our video to see what we thought about Hotel La Amistad. For more on Hotel La Amistad - http For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- www.TravelCostaRicaNow.com michael alan's blog - http Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
- published: 09 May 2010
- views: 7039
- author: Michael Alan D'Angelo
Girl Watching in San Jose Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:21
- Updated: 07 Dec 2012
Some semi-random shots taken in downtown San Jose Costa Rica of the local Ticas - Chicas - Girls - etc etc.
http://wn.com/Girl_Watching_in_San_Jose_Costa_Rica
Some semi-random shots taken in downtown San Jose Costa Rica of the local Ticas - Chicas - Girls - etc etc.
- published: 17 May 2011
- views: 24447
- author: MrAndyKelp
David Ellefson in San Jose, Costa Rica - Dec 1 2011
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:50
- Updated: 08 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/David_Ellefson_in_San_Jose,_Costa_Rica_Dec_1_2011
San José and Central Valley Sightseing Flight: Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:40
- Updated: 02 Jul 2012
Central Valley sightseeing flight. Departing from Pavas airport and visiting places like Heredia, Alajuela, Cartago and many other important cities and towns in the central valley of Costa Rica. Special thanks to Capt Jonathan Sánchez and André Quiros, and Fotos Aéreas Costa Rica for this opportunity. If you haven't been in San José you will visit all of it in just 15 minutes! Visit Fotos Aéreas Costa Rica at www.fotosaereascr.com
http://wn.com/San_José_and_Central_Valley_Sightseing_Flight_Costa_Rica
Central Valley sightseeing flight. Departing from Pavas airport and visiting places like Heredia, Alajuela, Cartago and many other important cities and towns in the central valley of Costa Rica. Special thanks to Capt Jonathan Sánchez and André Quiros, and Fotos Aéreas Costa Rica for this opportunity. If you haven't been in San José you will visit all of it in just 15 minutes! Visit Fotos Aéreas Costa Rica at www.fotosaereascr.com
- published: 01 Jul 2012
- views: 1004
- author: meneses24
Driving in Costa Rica - San Jose to Jaco
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:26
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
Driving from San Jose to Jaco Beach, Costa Rica. Brief video showing the new highway to Caldera, also known as "Autopista del Sol" which will take you to every beach in the Central, North and South Pacific of Costa Rica. From the Sabana Park get on the highway called "Autopista del Sol" to Escazu/Santa Ana/Ciudad Colon. The "Autopista del Sol" will take you directly to the Central Pacific. The entire trip on the highway up costs a little less than $5. Make sure you have plenty of coins or small bills ready in Colones since US dollars or any other currency isn't accepted. From San Jose you will have to pass through the Escazu, San Rafael, Atenas and the Pozon tollbooths. Do not leave the highway until you have passed all the tollbooths. On the "Autopista del Sol" before reaching Caldera take the exit to Limonal and from there follow the signs to Jaco/Hermosa/Manuel Antonio. Detailed driving directions from San Jose to the beaches in Costa Rica at www.surfvoucher.com and www.surfvoucher.com. The entire ride to Jaco on the Autopista del Sol will take around an hour
http://wn.com/Driving_in_Costa_Rica_San_Jose_to_Jaco
Driving from San Jose to Jaco Beach, Costa Rica. Brief video showing the new highway to Caldera, also known as "Autopista del Sol" which will take you to every beach in the Central, North and South Pacific of Costa Rica. From the Sabana Park get on the highway called "Autopista del Sol" to Escazu/Santa Ana/Ciudad Colon. The "Autopista del Sol" will take you directly to the Central Pacific. The entire trip on the highway up costs a little less than $5. Make sure you have plenty of coins or small bills ready in Colones since US dollars or any other currency isn't accepted. From San Jose you will have to pass through the Escazu, San Rafael, Atenas and the Pozon tollbooths. Do not leave the highway until you have passed all the tollbooths. On the "Autopista del Sol" before reaching Caldera take the exit to Limonal and from there follow the signs to Jaco/Hermosa/Manuel Antonio. Detailed driving directions from San Jose to the beaches in Costa Rica at www.surfvoucher.com and www.surfvoucher.com. The entire ride to Jaco on the Autopista del Sol will take around an hour
- published: 20 Jul 2010
- views: 5537
- author: surfvoucher
San Jose Costa Rica Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:23
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
San Jose Costa Rica
http://wn.com/San_Jose_Costa_Rica_Part_1
Club Vertigo San Jose Costa Rica Nightclub
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:56
- Updated: 21 Jul 2012
GetTONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO and VIDEOS at TravelCostaRicaNOW.com HEY EVERYONE! Club Vertigo is one of the BEST Clubs not only in San Jose Costa Rica, but in all Central America. Club Vertigo is definitely a Vegas-style Club, nice and spread out on the inside, two rooms spinning HOUSE music. Great VIBES in both rooms. Lot's of SPECIAL events through-out the year and often have Internationally known DJ's throwin down the BEATS. Here's a little VIDEO to show you inside Club Vertigo on a Saturday night. ENjoY! For more on Club Vertigo - http For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- www.TravelCostaRicaNow.com michael alan's blog - http Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
http://wn.com/Club_Vertigo_San_Jose_Costa_Rica_Nightclub
GetTONS of Costa Rica Travel INFO and VIDEOS at TravelCostaRicaNOW.com HEY EVERYONE! Club Vertigo is one of the BEST Clubs not only in San Jose Costa Rica, but in all Central America. Club Vertigo is definitely a Vegas-style Club, nice and spread out on the inside, two rooms spinning HOUSE music. Great VIBES in both rooms. Lot's of SPECIAL events through-out the year and often have Internationally known DJ's throwin down the BEATS. Here's a little VIDEO to show you inside Club Vertigo on a Saturday night. ENjoY! For more on Club Vertigo - http For more helpful travel information on Costa Rica make sure you check out our website and our blog. Our Travel Tip Website- www.TravelCostaRicaNow.com michael alan's blog - http Our pictures from around Costa Rica - www.flickr.com Our Gay Travel Tip Webpage - travelcostaricanow.com michael alan's gay blog - www.DoinGayCostaRica.com Lots more travel tips on video by us - http .
- published: 30 May 2010
- views: 10773
- author: Michael Alan D'Angelo
Del Rey hotel san jose costa rica..room view
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:53
- Updated: 11 Oct 2012
The pride of the 100.00 /night room at the del rey blue marlin san jose costa rica. aside from the room...the stay there is awesome.staff is great and friendly and the machines there are not tight with payouts..lotta fun
http://wn.com/Del_Rey_hotel_san_jose_costa_ricaroom_view
The pride of the 100.00 /night room at the del rey blue marlin san jose costa rica. aside from the room...the stay there is awesome.staff is great and friendly and the machines there are not tight with payouts..lotta fun
- published: 07 Jul 2010
- views: 20963
- author: spotteddawg01
Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica, FULL FLIGHT
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:57
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
I gave my girlfriend (Tina) my HD camera for her Costa Rica 2 week trip, she took American Airlines flight 937 out of Miami (MIA) to San Jose, for future travel vlogs, subscribe to her channel! show some love! www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Miami_to_San_Jose,_Costa_Rica,_FULL_FLIGHT
I gave my girlfriend (Tina) my HD camera for her Costa Rica 2 week trip, she took American Airlines flight 937 out of Miami (MIA) to San Jose, for future travel vlogs, subscribe to her channel! show some love! www.youtube.com
- published: 28 Jun 2011
- views: 3520
- author: DFWdeno
San Jose Airport Costa Rica UPDATED
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:21
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Hey Everyone, this is an UPDATED version of another video we did about flying into the Juan Santamaria International Airport (San Jose Airport). This video combines the old footage with some NEW changes that needed to be added. Check OUT this video to have an understanding of what you can expect when arriving into Costa Rica via the San Jose Airport. pura vida. here's the video - Hey guys Im Michael Alan for TravelCostaRicaNow.com hey, last year about this same time we made a video tape about flying into the San Jose airport (airport is really in Alajuela not San Jose). Well the information is still strong, and youre going to see it couple of minor changes that we need to tell you about So, this is the new video about flying in to the San Jose airport. Ill see you I a couple of minutes with the changers take a look. Welcome to Juan Santa Maria International Airport better known as the San Jose airport (again, the airport is in Alajuela not in San Jose its just known all over as the San Jose Airport.). ah, were just going to show you uhm what you can expect when you arrive here in to uhmm Costa Rica. Maybe give you a couple of tips on make this a little better transitions on where ever it is youre going okay, so well be right back Hey guys, when you get off the plain youll go through baggage claim and customs and all that stuff. When you come out youll get inundated with a lot of people, a lot of signs, people yelling taxi, people trying to get your attention.. and that ...
http://wn.com/San_Jose_Airport_Costa_Rica_UPDATED
Hey Everyone, this is an UPDATED version of another video we did about flying into the Juan Santamaria International Airport (San Jose Airport). This video combines the old footage with some NEW changes that needed to be added. Check OUT this video to have an understanding of what you can expect when arriving into Costa Rica via the San Jose Airport. pura vida. here's the video - Hey guys Im Michael Alan for TravelCostaRicaNow.com hey, last year about this same time we made a video tape about flying into the San Jose airport (airport is really in Alajuela not San Jose). Well the information is still strong, and youre going to see it couple of minor changes that we need to tell you about So, this is the new video about flying in to the San Jose airport. Ill see you I a couple of minutes with the changers take a look. Welcome to Juan Santa Maria International Airport better known as the San Jose airport (again, the airport is in Alajuela not in San Jose its just known all over as the San Jose Airport.). ah, were just going to show you uhm what you can expect when you arrive here in to uhmm Costa Rica. Maybe give you a couple of tips on make this a little better transitions on where ever it is youre going okay, so well be right back Hey guys, when you get off the plain youll go through baggage claim and customs and all that stuff. When you come out youll get inundated with a lot of people, a lot of signs, people yelling taxi, people trying to get your attention.. and that ...
- published: 13 Dec 2009
- views: 14946
- author: Michael Alan D'Angelo
Final Approach to San José, Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:36
- Updated: 25 Nov 2012
Approach to SJO, high terrain in the vicinity
http://wn.com/Final_Approach_to_San_José,_Costa_Rica
San José, Costa Rica 2011 HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:28
- Updated: 05 Dec 2012
Este es un conjunto de imágenes del Valle Central de Costa Rica, donde vive casi la mitad de su población. Aquí se encuentra la ciudad de San José la cual ha retomado su desarrollo vertical sin dejar de lado sus verdes parques, hermosos teatros y sus edificaciones antiguas. Fotos tomadas de la seccion de Costa Rica en www.skyscrapercity.com.música de Editus: 360 20 years ago the city of San José, capital of Costa rica was a dirty, careless and abandoned place, the people were settling down around San José and the capital had became in a center to take public transport to others cities, or a place to work, San José was a city for the traffic however the people had to walk by narrow sidewalks , now Downtown San José, have been changed and we can live a very good experience, there are many atractions to enjoy the city, little by little the people is coming back to downtown and as example of it are the new apartments buildings, people can walk freely in the new boulevards and we hope San José continue changing in order to be one of the best cities of central america pictures in skyscrapercity.com, costa rican subforum
http://wn.com/San_José,_Costa_Rica_2011_HD
Este es un conjunto de imágenes del Valle Central de Costa Rica, donde vive casi la mitad de su población. Aquí se encuentra la ciudad de San José la cual ha retomado su desarrollo vertical sin dejar de lado sus verdes parques, hermosos teatros y sus edificaciones antiguas. Fotos tomadas de la seccion de Costa Rica en www.skyscrapercity.com.música de Editus: 360 20 years ago the city of San José, capital of Costa rica was a dirty, careless and abandoned place, the people were settling down around San José and the capital had became in a center to take public transport to others cities, or a place to work, San José was a city for the traffic however the people had to walk by narrow sidewalks , now Downtown San José, have been changed and we can live a very good experience, there are many atractions to enjoy the city, little by little the people is coming back to downtown and as example of it are the new apartments buildings, people can walk freely in the new boulevards and we hope San José continue changing in order to be one of the best cities of central america pictures in skyscrapercity.com, costa rican subforum
- published: 17 Oct 2011
- views: 18462
- author: mariocor95
San Jose, Costa Rica
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:01
- Updated: 13 Sep 2012
If you're traveling to Costa Rica, this is the city that you fly into. While many travelers keep right on going, our host, Charlie David, spends some time discovering why San Jose is a must see destination on its own. After earning his cup of java at a family owned coffee plantation, Charlie peers into the depths of an active volcano, discovers how eliminating the national army can lead to an incredible array of arts and culture, indulges in the local cuisine and becomes an impromptu guest of honor at the biggest parade in Latin America, the Festival de La Luz. Get Out There! out-adventures.com
http://wn.com/San_Jose,_Costa_Rica
If you're traveling to Costa Rica, this is the city that you fly into. While many travelers keep right on going, our host, Charlie David, spends some time discovering why San Jose is a must see destination on its own. After earning his cup of java at a family owned coffee plantation, Charlie peers into the depths of an active volcano, discovers how eliminating the national army can lead to an incredible array of arts and culture, indulges in the local cuisine and becomes an impromptu guest of honor at the biggest parade in Latin America, the Festival de La Luz. Get Out There! out-adventures.com
- published: 09 Aug 2012
- views: 479
- author: MrCharlieDavid
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
19 Dec 2012
WASHINGTON. US President Barack Obama backs a new bill to revive an assault weapons ban and other new gun laws, the White House said Tuesday, fleshing out his nascent response to a shocking school massacre. Obama also called an ardently pro-gun senator who has shifted his position on firearms laws since Friday's carnage in Connecticut and has begun meeting top cabinet officials to consider his options, his spokesman Jay Carney said ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)
photo: AP / Charles Krupa
18 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. "Most people reason dramatically, not quantitatively." -Oliver Wendell Holmes. On the same day that a 20-year-old, described as brilliant but remote, walked into an elementary school in Connecticut and massacred 26 children and adults, the school where I teach went on "lock-down." Four students with a handgun were arrested ... That morning before school, he had posted on Twitter and Facebook....(size: 14.0Kb)
photo: Creative Commons / Joachim Huber
18 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When a Stanford geneticist, Gerald Crabtree, published a provocative and controversial new view on evolutionary change, namely that humans are actually getting dumber, he should have also added that humans are still developing an extermination gene ... Paleontologist Tim Flannery would more than likely agree with Crabtree ... Strange strings of gravel also overlaid some bones ... (1) Kane, Alex ... 195....(size: 9.4Kb)
photo: AP / Narciso Contreras
19 Dec 2012
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $1.5 billion (920.1 million pounds) to provide life-saving aid to Syrians suffering from a "dramatically deteriorating" humanitarian situation ... "The magnitude of this humanitarian crisis is indisputable," said Radhouane Nouicer, U.N ... Inside Syria, U.N ... ....(size: 1.5Kb)
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow
18 Dec 2012
An increasing number of US congressmen have called for a national dialogue about measures to curb gun violence following the shooting last week at a primary school in Connecticut that killed 26 people, including 20 children and six adults. White House officials have said that President Barack Obama would make preventing gun-related violence a priority in his second term in office and stricter laws would be part of the effort. ... ....(size: 19.2Kb)
noodls
20 Dec 2012
(Source. Seattle Sounders FC) ... 12/19/2012 ... Tigres won Group 6 with two wins and two draws against Costa Rica's Alajuelense and Nicaragua's Real Estelí to capture the six seed. ... The third and final MLS club in the tournament is the LA Galaxy, who face Herediano of Costa Rica. ... internationals in midfielders Jonathan Bornstein and Jose Torres. ... All Times U.S ... Herediano (Costa Rica) vs ... Herediano (Costa Rica), 7 p.m....(size: 4.2Kb)
noodls
20 Dec 2012
(Source. Seattle Sounders FC). Posted by.Matt Gaschk. 12/19/2012 ... There they will meet a Tigres side that went 2-0-2 in Group 6, topping Costa Rica's Alajuelense and Real Esteli from Honduras ... They feature two US National Team players in right back Jonathan Bornstein and midfielders Jose Francisco Torres ... On the other side of the bracket, the LA Galaxy face Costa Rica's Herediano while top-seeded Monterrey will meet Xelaju from Guatemala....(size: 3.4Kb)
Scoop
20 Dec 2012
Costa Rica Nominates Minister Anabel González For Post Of WTO Director-General ... COSTA RICA NOMINATES MINISTER ANABEL GONZÁLEZ FOR POST OF WTO DIRECTOR-GENERAL. Costa Rica, on 19 December 2012, nominated Minister Anabel González for the post of WTO Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy, whose term of office expires on 31 August 2013....(size: 6.2Kb)
Tampabay.com
20 Dec 2012
Associated Press. Associated Press In Print. Thursday, December 20, 2012. ADVERTISEMENT. ADVERTISEMENT. Story Tools Print this story Contact the editor Email Newsletters. MEXICO CITY. The world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures ... Gallup Inc ... They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica ... Costa Rica, 81 percent. SADDEST....(size: 6.0Kb)
PR Newswire
20 Dec 2012
Google. SAN JOSE, California, December 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --. Proteus product on display is the only Wi-Fi implementation that truly leverages the capabilities of programmable DSPs. Antcor, S.A., an industry pioneer of 802.11 Intellectual Property, today announced that it will showcase at CES 2013 Proteus, a Wi-Fi 802.11ac IP on CEVA-XC DSP Core ... Costas Meimetis, CEO of Antcor, commented ... About Antcor, S.A ... Costas Meimetis ... ....(size: 5.5Kb)
STL Today
20 Dec 2012
Denver Post
20 Dec 2012
People in Venezuela, including this worker in Caracas, are among those with the most upbeat attitudes, a poll shows. (Associated Press file) ... Gallup Inc ... They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica ... The United States was No ... ....(size: 1.4Kb)
The Daily Telegraph Australia
20 Dec 2012
THE world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures. They aren't in Japan, the nation with the highest life expectancy ... Mennonite girls look back as they ride in a horse drawn cart along a dirt road near the town of Nueva Durango in San Pedro in Paraguay ... They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica ... ....(size: 4.1Kb)
Indian Express
20 Dec 2012
The world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures. They aren't in Japan, the nation with the highest life expectancy ... But it ranks seventh in positive emotions ... They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica ... contd. PAGE. 12 . Single Page Format ....(size: 1.6Kb)
my SA
20 Dec 2012
By all accounts, Jon Hammar did everything correctly. The Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan set off on a road trip to Costa Rica to do some surfing, which family members have described as therapy for his post-traumatic stress disorder. According to reports from the Express-News, CNN and the Associated Press, before he entered Mexico from Brownsville on Aug ... He did so ... ....(size: 1.8Kb)
Newstrack India
20 Dec 2012
Tweet. London, Dec. 20 (ANI). The world's happiest people are in Latin America and those living in Singapore are the most unhappy, a poll has found. Despite faring poorly in traditional measures of well-being, countries like Guatemala, rank highly for positive emotions ... They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica, the report said ... (ANI) ... ) .. ). ... . . ....(size: 3.1Kb)
Peace FM Online
20 Dec 2012
Mr. Lamys term of office, which was renewed once, ends on August 31, 2013 ... Other personalities said to be bracing for the contest include South African Trade Minister Rob Davies, New Zealands Trade Minister, Tim Groser, Costa Ricas Trade Minister, Anabel Gonzalez, Brazils Ambassador to the WTO Roberto Azevedo, Former Jordanian Trade Minister Ahmad Al Hindawi and Eduardo Perez Motta, head of Mexicos competition commission....(size: 2.8Kb)
DNA India
20 Dec 2012
The world’s happiest people are in Latin America and those living in Singapore are the most unhappy, a poll has found. Despite faring poorly in traditional measures of well-being, countries like Guatemala, rank highly for positive emotions ... According to the Telegraph, Gallup Inc ... They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica, the report said....(size: 2.3Kb)
| San José | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Nickname(s): Chepe | |||
| Motto: Ad Meliora | |||
 San José
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| Coordinates: 9°56′N 84°5′W / 9.933°N 84.083°W / 9.933; -84.083Coordinates: 9°56′N 84°5′W / 9.933°N 84.083°W / 9.933; -84.083 | |||
| Country |  Costa Rica |
||
| Province | San José Province | ||
| Canton | San José Canton | ||
| Founded | ca. 1738 | ||
| Capital as of | May 16, 1823 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Democratic Republic | ||
| • Mayor | Johnny Araya Monge (PLN) | ||
| Area | |||
| • City | 44.62 km2 (17.23 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 1,170 m (3,840 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • City | 365,799 | ||
| • Metro | 1,715,485 | ||
| • Metro density | 8,198.1/km2 (21,233/sq mi) | ||
| • Demonym | Josefino/a | ||
| Time zone | Central Standard Time (UTC-6) | ||
| Postal Code | 10101 | ||
| Area code(s) | + 506 | ||
| HDI (2007/2008) | 0.748 – high[1] | ||
| Website | http://www.msj.go.cr | ||
.svg)
San José ("Saint Joseph", Spanish: San José, pronounced: [saŋ xoˈse]) is the capital of Costa Rica, head of the province of San José, and the nation's largest city. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. The population of San José Canton is 365,799,[2] though the metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and comprises a third of the country's population.
Culturally, the city can be considered almost entirely European influenced, in part because of Spanish immigration soon after Costa Rica's discovery by Christopher Columbus, and the privileged classes which generally studied in Europe during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. This can be seen in the architecture of the city, namely theaters, museums and houses in the city center. It is named in honor of Joseph of Nazareth.
San José is a city with an interesting mix of history and modernity. Even though the city's center is almost uninhabited, it is the most important working area of the country, which brings in more than a million people daily. Despite its problems, according to studies in Latin America, San José is still one of the safest, purist, and less violent cities in the region. In 2006 the city was appointed Ibero-American Capital of Culture.
Contents |
History[link]
The population grew during the eighteenth century colonial planning, which was different from the traditional foundation plans of Spanish cities in the continent.
Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, its objective was to concentrate the scattered inhabitants of the Aserrí Valley. To do so, the construction of a chapel near the area known as La Boca del Monte was ordered, this was completed two years later. That year St. Joseph was chosen as parish patron, hence its current name. The chapel, which was very modest, was erected with help from the church of Cartago.
San Jose had water problems, and that was one of the main reasons that the population grew slowly. However, the water supply was assured by ditches, and the fertility of the surrounding fields along with the installation of the Tobacco Factory of Costa Rica, which would aide urban concentration.
As San Jose, unlike what happened to Cartago, was not founded with a formal act of foundation, it was not considered as a city or town, and consequently the city lacked a city government. It was not until the enactment of the Constitution of Cadiz in 1812 when San Jose had its first city government. In 1813, the Spanish parliament gave the town the title of city, which was then lost in 1814 when Ferdinand VII of Spain annulled the proceedings by the courts. The municipal government was restored in 1820 with the title of city population.
San José is one of the youngest capital cities in Latin America by year of conception, though it was not named capital until 1823.[3]
Today it is a modern city with bustling commerce, brisk expressions of art and architecture, and spurred by the country's improved tourism industry, it is a significant destination and stopover for foreign visitors.[4]
San José exerts a strong influence because of its proximity to other cities (Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago) and the country's demographic assemblage in the Central Valley.[5]
Education[link]
University of Santo Tomas, the first university of Costa Rica was established here in 1843. That institution maintained close ties with the Roman Catholic Church and was closed in 1888 by the progressive and anti-clerical government of President Bernardo Soto Alfaro as part of a campaign to modernize public education. The schools of law, agronomy, fine arts, and pharmacy continued to operate independently, but Costa Rica had no university proper until 1940, when those four schools were re-united to establish the modern University of Costa Rica (UCR), during the reformist administration of President Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia. San José serves as the headquarters of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The city is served by Juan Santamaría International Airport, 23 km west of downtown, in the city of Alajuela.
Districts[link]
1 San José is divided into 11 districts (distritos): Catedral, Carmen, Hatillo, Hospital, Uruca, Mata Redonda, Merced, Pavas, San Francisco de Dos Ríos, San Sebastián, Zapote. The districts are divided up into a number of neighborhoods (local name: "barrios").[6]
Transportation[link]
Buses Private bus companies connect different areas of the city with each other and the suburbs. Services to other parts of the country are provided by other private companies which have stations or stops at random locations spread all over the city center. There is no central bus station.
Train Trains run to Heredia from Estación Atlantico and San Antonio de Belen (just south of Alajuela airport) from Estación Pacifico. These only run on weekdays. There are plans to extend services to Alajuela and Cartago. [7]
Taxis Taxis are fairly cheap and fares are determined by meter (taximetro). From the airport, orange taxis are available that require registration inside the arrivals hall.
Cuisine[link]
Costa Rican cuisine (comida típica) is not spicy, but it is tasty and simple, and in San José, it is easy to find. Costa Rican food is wholesome and reasonably priced. Throughout San José, the most popular food is the national dish of gallo pinto, which is a mixture of fried rice and black beans. Gallo pinto is usually served for breakfast with tortillas and natilla, a thin sour cream. Costa Rican restaurants serving traditional food at an affordable price are called sodas and usually offer casados for lunch and dinner. A casado (which means "married" in Spanish) consists of rice, beans, and meat, and normally comes with cabbage-and-tomato salad, fried plantains, and/or tortillas.[8] A wide variety of food can be bought for home cooking at San José Central Market in downtown San José, as well as for inexpensive eating in Sodas within the market complex itself.
Climate[link]
San José City lies in the Torrid Zone and is in a tropical rainforest. However its elevation gives it a mild climate. Under the Köppen climate classification it features a Tropical wet and dry climate that borders on a subtropical highland climate. The temperature ranges between 17 and 30 °C (63 and 86 °F). Relative humidity averages 68.2% (with extremes of 55% in March and 78% in October)[9] and the daily range tends to be between 60% and 90%, with the humidity typically dropping to the lower end of this range near mid-day and rising again during the night. It rains on an average of 170 days per year[9] but half the rainfall pours down on only 15[citation needed] of these days. The rainy season is from May to mid-November, but cloudiness and rainfall can occur during the dry season. There are approximately 2040 hours of sunshine per year.[9] The weather is also very windy[quantify][citation needed]; this may decrease the apparent temperature.
| Climate data for San José, Costa Rica | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 30 (86) |
31 (88) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
33 (91) |
28 (82) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
30 (86) |
33 (91) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 26.0 (78.8) |
26.8 (80.2) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.4 (83.1) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.9 (80.4) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.2 (79.2) |
25.9 (78.6) |
26.93 (80.47) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.2 (72.0) |
21.7 (71.1) |
22.0 (71.6) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.3 (70.3) |
21.2 (70.2) |
21.6 (70.9) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.95 (71.51) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 17.8 (64.0) |
18.0 (64.4) |
18.1 (64.6) |
18.8 (65.8) |
19.0 (66.2) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.0 (66.2) |
18.8 (65.8) |
18.2 (64.8) |
18.2 (64.8) |
18.6 (65.5) |
18.3 (64.9) |
18.48 (65.26) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9 (48) |
10 (50) |
10 (50) |
11 (52) |
12 (54) |
13 (55) |
12 (54) |
13 (55) |
13 (55) |
12 (54) |
11 (52) |
9 (48) |
9 (48) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 6.3 (0.248) |
10.2 (0.402) |
13.8 (0.543) |
79.9 (3.146) |
267.6 (10.535) |
280.1 (11.028) |
181.5 (7.146) |
276.9 (10.902) |
355.1 (13.98) |
330.6 (13.016) |
135.5 (5.335) |
33.5 (1.319) |
1,971 (77.6) |
| Avg. rainy days | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 107 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 285.2 | 266.0 | 282.1 | 240.0 | 182.9 | 144.0 | 151.9 | 158.1 | 147.0 | 161.2 | 177.0 | 244.9 | 2,440.3 |
| Source no. 1: HKO[10] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: Weatherbase.com (records, rain days)[11] | |||||||||||||
Landmarks[link]
See also: Museums of Costa Rica
The National Theater (Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica) and Melico Salazar Theatre present theater, dance performances and concerts throughout the year. Gold Museum displays gold artifacts of the ancient Latin American civilizations. The Lankester Botanical Garden is located at the outskirts of San José. Other historical sites include Teatro Variedades, San José's oldest theater. [12]
Sister cities[link]
Beijing, People's Republic of China (2009)
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Jayapura, Indonesia
Kfar Sava, Israel
La Paz, Bolivia
Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States
Okayama, Japan
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- San Jose, California, United States
Taipei, Republic of China
Gallery[link]
-
National Theater
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The tallest sculpture in Costa Rica: "Tradition, stability and justice" in the "Plaza de la Justicia", sculptor Ibo Bonilla
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Looking toward the Hospital San Juan de Dios
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Plaza de la Central
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National Museum of Costa Rica
References[link]
- ^ http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Provincias_de_Costa_Rica_por_IDH
- ^ Total Population of Costa Rica by, for province, canton and district levels, December 2006, published by the National Institute of Statistics and Census(INEC)
- ^ History of San José, Costa Rica, by Spanish Abroad, Inc.
- ^ Infoplease. San José, Costa Rica
- ^ In San José, Costa Rica, effective metropolitan planning and selective infrastructure investment can improve the quality of life for the poor, by Rosendo Pujol, researcher of ProDUS on the World Bank Urban Research Symposium in Brasilia, Brasil, April 4–6, 2005
- ^ http://www.frommers.com/destinations/print-narrative.cfm?destID=42&catID=0042025784521
- ^ http://horariodetren.com/cr/
- ^ http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/costarica/costcuis.html
- ^ a b c San Jose climate from climatetemp.info
- ^ "Climatological Normals of San José". Hong Kong Observatory. http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/s_america/mx_cam/san_jose_e.htm. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- ^ "Historical Weather for San José". weatherbase.com. http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=26787&refer=&cityname=San-Jose-Costa-Rica. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- ^ Patrimonio Nacional
External links[link]
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_José,_Costa_Rica
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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For cities in other countries, see Costa Rica, Sinaloa and Costa Rica, Mato Grosso do Sul.
| Republic of Costa Rica
República de Costa Rica
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Motto: "Pura Vida" (traditional) (Contextual meaning: Full of life) |
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| Anthem: Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera (Spanish) Noble homeland, your beautiful flag |
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.svg) |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
San José 9°56′N 84°5′W / 9.933°N 84.083°W / 9.933; -84.083 |
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| Official language(s) | Spanish | |||||
| Recognised regional languages | Mekatelyu, Bribri | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2011) | White (40%), Mestizo (31%), Mulatto (17%), Amerindian (4%), Black (3%), Does not know/No response (3%), Asian (1%), Other (1%) (self-reported)[1] | |||||
| Demonym | Costa Rican; Tico | |||||
| Government | Unitary presidential constitutional republic | |||||
| - | President | Laura Chinchilla | ||||
| - | 1st Vice-President | Alfio Piva | ||||
| - | 2nd Vice-President | Luis Liberman | ||||
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly | |||||
| Independence | Declared | |||||
| - | from Spain | September 15, 1821 | ||||
| - | from Mexico (the First Mexican Empire) | July 1, 1823 | ||||
| - | from United Provinces of Central America | March 21, 1847 | ||||
| - | Recognized by Spain | May 10, 1850 | ||||
| - | Constitution | November 7, 1949[2] | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 51,100 km2 (128th) 19,653 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 0.7 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2011 census | 4,301,712[3] | ||||
| - | Density | 84[3]/km2 (107th) 220/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $55.021 billion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $11,927[4] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $40.947 billion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $8,876[4] | ||||
| Gini (2009) | 50[5] (high) | |||||
| HDI (2011) | 0.744[6] (high) (69th) | |||||
| Currency | Costa Rican colón (CRC) |
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| Time zone | CST (UTC−6) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | CR | |||||
| Internet TLD | .cr | |||||
| Calling code | +506 | |||||
.svg)
Costa Rica[7] is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949.[8][9][10] It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies.[11] Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011.[6] Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels,[12] and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability.[6] The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.[13]
In 2007, the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon-neutral country by 2021.[14][15][16] According to the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the "greenest" country in the world.[17]
Contents |
History[link]
Main article: History of Costa Rica
Pre-Columbian period[link]
Historians have classified the indigenous people of Costa Rica as belonging to the Intermediate Area, where the peripheries of the Mesoamerican and Andean native cultures overlapped. More recently, pre-Columbian Costa Rica has also been described as part of the Isthmo-Colombian Area. The northwest of the country, Nicoya Peninsula, was the southernmost reach of the Nahuatl culture when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century.[citation needed] The rest of the country was influenced by various Chibcha speaking indigenous groups.
The impact of indigenous peoples on modern Costa Rican culture has been relatively small compared to other nations, since the country lacked a strong native civilization to begin with. Most of the native population was absorbed into the Spanish-speaking colonial society through inter-marriage, except for some small remnants, the most significant of which are the Bribri and Boruca tribes who still inhabit the mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca, in the southern part of Costa Rica, near the frontier with Panama.
Spanish colonization[link]
During most of the colonial period, Costa Rica was the southernmost province of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, which was nominally part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (i.e., Mexico), but which in practice operated as a largely autonomous entity within the Spanish Empire. Costa Rica's distance from the capital in Guatemala, its legal prohibition under Spanish law to trade with its southern neighbors in Panama, then part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (i.e., Colombia), and the lack of resources, such as gold and silver, made Costa Rica into a poor, isolated, and sparsely inhabited region within the Spanish Empire.[18] Costa Rica was described as "the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all America" by a Spanish governor in 1719.[19]
Another important factor behind Costa Rica's poverty was the lack of a significant indigenous population available for Encomienda (forced labor), which meant most of the Costa Rican settlers had to work on their own land, preventing the establishment of large haciendas (properties). For all these reasons, Costa Rica was by and large unappreciated and overlooked by the Spanish Crown and left to develop on its own. The circumstances during this period are believed to have led to many of the idiosyncrasies for which Costa Rica has become known, while concomitantly setting the stage for Costa Rica's development as a more egalitarian society than the rest of its neighbors. Costa Rica became a "rural democracy" with no oppressed mestizo or indigenous class. It was not long before Spanish settlers turned to the hills, where they found rich volcanic soil and a milder climate than that of the lowlands.[20]
Independence[link]
Like the rest of Central America, Costa Rica never fought for independence from Spain. On September 15, 1821, after the final Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–21), the authorities in Guatemala declared the independence of all of Central America. That date is still celebrated as Independence Day in Costa Rica, even though, technically, under the Spanish Constitution of 1812 that had been readopted in 1820, Nicaragua and Costa Rica had become an autonomous province with its capital in León.
Like other Central American nations, Costa Rica joined the short-lived First Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide but, after its collapse in 1823, Costa Rica became instead a province of the new Federal Republic of Central America, which theoretically existed from 1823 to 1839, but which exercised a very loose authority over its constituent provinces, particularly the poor and remote Costa Rica. In 1824, the Costa Rican capital was moved to San José, leading to a brief outburst of violence over rivalry with the old capital, Cartago. While civil wars raged both among the provinces of the Federal Republic of Central America and between political factions within individual provinces, Costa Rica remained largely at peace.
In 1838, long after the Federal Republic of Central America ceased to function in practice, Costa Rica formally withdrew and proclaimed itself sovereign. The considerable distance and poor communication routes between Guatemala City and the Central Plateau, where most of the Costa Rican population lived then and still lives now, meant the local population had little allegiance to the federal government in Guatemala. From colonial times to now, Costa Rica's reluctance to become politically tied with the rest of Central America has been a major obstacle to efforts for greater regional integration.
Economic growth[link]
Coffee was first planted in Costa Rica in the early 19th century, and was first shipped to Europe in 1843, soon becoming Costa Rica's first major export. Coffee production would remain Costa Rica's principal source of wealth well into the 20th century. Most of the coffee exported was grown around the main centers of population in the Central Plateau and then transported by oxcart to the Pacific port of Puntarenas. Since the main market for the coffee was in Europe, it soon became a high priority to develop a transportation route from the Central Plateau to the Atlantic Ocean. For this purpose, in the 1870s, the Costa Rican government contracted with U.S. businessman Minor C. Keith to build a railroad to the Caribbean port of Limón. Despite enormous difficulties with construction, disease, and financing, the railroad was completed in 1890.
Most Afro-Costa Ricans, who constitute about 3% of the country's population, descend from Jamaican immigrants who worked in the construction of that railway.[21] United States convicts, Italians and Chinese immigrants also participated in the construction project. In exchange for completing the railroad, the Costa Rican government granted Keith large tracts of land and a lease on the train route, which he used to produce bananas and export them to the United States. As a result, bananas came to rival coffee as the principal Costa Rican export, while foreign-owned corporations (including the United Fruit Company) began to hold a major role in the national economy.[citation needed]
20th century[link]
Historically, Costa Rica has generally enjoyed greater peace and more consistent political stability compared with many of its fellow Latin American nations. Since the late 19th century, however, Costa Rica has experienced two significant periods of violence. In 1917–19, General Federico Tinoco Granados ruled as a military dictator until he was overthrown and forced into exile. The unpopularity of Tinoco's regime led, after he was overthrown, to a considerable decline in the size, wealth, and political influence of the Costa Rican military. In 1948, José Figueres Ferrer led an armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election between the previous president Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia (he served as president between 1940 and 1944) and Otilio Ulate Blanco.[22] With more than 2,000 dead, the resulting 44-day Costa Rican Civil War was the bloodiest event in Costa Rica during the 20th century.
The victorious rebels formed a government junta that abolished the military altogether, and oversaw the drafting of a new constitution by a democratically elected assembly.[23] Having enacted these reforms, the junta relinquished its power on November 8, 1949, to the new democratic government. After the coup d'état, Figueres became a national hero, winning the country's first democratic election under the new constitution in 1953. Since then, Costa Rica has held 13 presidential elections, the latest in 2010. All of them have been widely regarded by the international community as peaceful and transparent.
Politics[link]
Main article: Politics of Costa Rica
Provinces, cantons, and districts[link]
Main articles: Provinces of Costa Rica and Cantons of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is composed of seven provinces, which in turn are divided into 81 cantons (Spanish: cantón, plural cantones), each of which is directed by a mayor. Mayors are chosen democratically every four years by each canton's people. There are no provincial legislatures. The cantons are further divided into 421 districts (distritos). The provinces are:
Geography[link]
Main article: Geography of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, lying between latitudes 8° and 12°N, and longitudes 82° and 86°W. It borders the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290 kilometres (800 mi) of coastline, 212 km (132 mi) on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km (631 mi) on the Pacific.
Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309 km or 192 mi of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km or 397 mi of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometres (19,700 sq mi) plus 589 square kilometres (227 sq mi) of territorial waters.
The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,819 metres (12,530 ft); it is the fifth highest peak in Central America. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m or 11,257 ft). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.
Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island (24 square kilometres / 9.3 square miles) stands out because of its distance from continental landmass, 300 mi (480 km) from Puntarenas, but Calero Island is the largest island of the country (151.6 square kilometres / 58.5 square miles). Over 25% of Costa Rica's national territory is protected by SINAC (the National System of Conservation Areas), which oversees all of the country's protected areas. Costa Rica also possesses the greatest density of species in the world.[24]
See also: List of volcanoes in Costa Rica, Islands of Costa Rica, and Category:Waterfalls of Costa Rica
Climate[link]
Main article: Climate of Costa Rica
Because Costa Rica is located between 8 and 12 degrees north of the Equator, the climate is tropical year round. However, the country has many microclimates depending on elevation, rainfall, topography, and by the geography of each particular region.
Costa Rica's seasons are defined by how much rain falls during a particular period and not to the four seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. The year can be split into two periods, the dry season known to the residents as summer, and the rainy season, known locally as winter. The "summer" or dry season goes from December to April, and "winter" or rainy season goes from May to November, which almost coincides with the Atlantic hurricane season, and during this time, it rains constantly in some regions.
The location receiving the most rain is the Caribbean slopes of the Central Cordillera mountains, with an annual rainfall of over 5,000 mm (196.9 in). Humidity is also higher on the Caribbean side than on the Pacific side. The mean annual temperature on the coastal lowlands is around 27 °C (81 °F), 20 °C (68 °F) in the main populated areas of the Central Cordilera, and below 10 °C (50 °F) on the summits of the highest mountains.[25]
Costa Rica Weather Averages [26]
| Months | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| High Temperature (C) | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Low Temperature (C) | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 6.3 | 10.2 | 13.8 | 79.9 | 267.6 | 280.1 | 181.5 | 276.9 | 355.1 | 330.6 | 135.5 | 33.5 |
| Average Percent Sunshine | 40 | 37 | 39 | 33 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 34 |
Economy[link]
Main articles: Economy of Costa Rica and Tourism in Costa Rica
According to the World Bank, Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US$11,122 PPP (as of 2009); however, this developing country still faces lack of maintenance and new investment in infrastructure, a poverty rate estimated to be 23%,[2][27] a 7.8% unemployment rate (2009 est.),[2] and a trade deficit of 5.2%. For the fiscal year 2007, the country showed a government surplus. Economic growth in 2008 diminished to a 3% increase in the face of a global recession (down from 7% and 9% growth in the prior two years).[2][28]
Costa Rica's inflation rate was an estimated 4.8% in 2011. On October 16, 2006, a new currency exchange system was introduced, allowing the value of the CRC colón to float between two bands as done previously by Chile. This policy's objective was to allow the Central Bank to be able to better tackle inflation and discourage the use of U.S. dollars. However, as of August 2009, the value of the colón against the dollar has decreased to 86% of its late-2006 value (see commonly available forex trading charts). The unit of currency is the colón, and as of May 2012, it trades around 507 to the US$,[29] and about 660 colones to the euro.
The central government offers tax exemptions for those willing to invest in the country. Several global high tech corporations have already started developing in the area and are exporting goods, including chip manufacturer Intel, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, and consumer products company Procter & Gamble. In 2006, Intel's microprocessor facility alone was responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 4.9% of the country's GDP.[30][31] Trade with Southeast Asia and Russia boomed during 2004 and 2005, and the country obtained full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership in 2007 after becoming an observer in 2004. The Financial Times Intelligent Unit awarded Costa Rica with the fDi’s Caribbean and Central American Country of the Future 2011/12 for its successful record in attracting FDI into the country, and being the number one destination country in the region in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) project numbers since 2003.[32][33]
In recent times, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing, software development, and ecotourism have become the prime industries in Costa Rica's economy. High levels of education among its residents make the country an attractive investing location. Since 1999, tourism earns more foreign exchange than the combined exports of the country's three main cash crops: bananas, pineapples and coffee.[34] Coffee production has played a key role in Costa Rica's history and economy, and by 2006, was the third cash crop export.[34]
The largest coffee growing areas are in the provinces of San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, and Cartago. Costa Rica is famous for its gourmet coffee beans, with Costa Rican Tarrazú among the finest arabica coffee beans in the world used for making espresso coffee, together with Jamaican Blue Mountain, Guatemalan Antigua and Ethiopian Sidamo.[35][36][37][38]
Costa Rica's location provides access to American markets as it has the same time zone as the central part of the United States and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia. In a countrywide referendum on October 5, 2007, the voters of Costa Rica narrowly backed a free trade agreement, with 51.6% of "Yes" votes.[39]
With a $2.2 billion per year tourism industry, Costa Rica is the most visited nation in the Central American region, with two million foreign visitors in 2008,[40] which translates into a high expenditure per tourist of $1,077 per trip, one of the highest in the Caribbean Basin. In 2008, most visitors came from the United States (38.6%), neighboring Nicaragua (21.8%), Europe (11.3%) and Canada (5.2%).[41] In 2005, tourism contributed 8.1% of the country's GNP, and represented 13.3% of direct and indirect employment.[42] Tourism now earns more foreign exchange than bananas and coffee combined.[34][43]
Ecotourism draws many tourists to visit the extensive national parks and protected areas around the country. Costa Rica was a pioneer in this type of tourism, and the country is recognized as one of the few with true ecotourism.[44] In terms of the 2011 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica ranked 44th in the world and second among Latin American countries after Mexico.[45] Considering its subindex natural resources, Costa Rica ranks sixth worldwide in the natural resources pillar, but 104th in terms of its cultural resources due to the country's limited number of cultural sites.[45]
Costa Rica has also developed a system of payments for environmental services.[46] Similarly, Costa Rica has a tax on water pollution to penalize businesses and homeowners that dump sewage, agricultural chemicals, and other pollutants into waterways.[47] In May 2007, the Costa Rican government announced its intentions to become 100% carbon neutral by 2021.[48] As of 2012, Costa Rica produces more than 90% of its electricity through renewable sources.[49]
In 1996, the Forest Law was enacted to provide direct financial incentives to landowners for the provision of environmental services.[46] This helped reorient the forestry sector away from commercial timber production and the resulting deforestation, and helped create awareness of the services it provides for the economy and society (i.e. carbon fixation, hydrological services such as producing fresh drinking water, biodiversity protection, and provision of scenic beauty).[46]
Foreign relations[link]
Main article: Foreign relations of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is an active member of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations University of Peace are based in Costa Rica. It is also a member of many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy.
A main foreign policy objective of Costa Rica is to foster human rights and sustainable development as a way to secure stability and growth.[50]
Costa Rica is a member of the International Criminal Court, without a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the United States military (as covered under Article 98).
On 10 September 1961, some months after Fidel Castro declared Cuba a socialist state, Costa Rican President Mario Echandi ended diplomatic relations with Cuba through Executive Decree Number 2. This freeze lasted for 47 years until President Óscar Arias Sánchez announced on 18 March 2009 that normal relations were to be re-established, saying, "If we have been able to turn the page with regimes as profoundly different to our reality as occurred with the USSR or, more recently, with the Republic of China, how would we not do it with a country that is geographically and culturally much nearer to Costa Rica?" Arias also announced both countries would exchange ambassadors.[51]
Costa Rica also has a long-term disagreement with Nicaragua over the San Juan River, which defines the border between the two countries. This disagreement arises regarding Costa Rica's rights of navigation on the river.[52] In 2010, there was also a dispute around Isla Calero, and the impact of Nicaraguan dredging of the river in that area.[53]
On July 14, 2009, the Hague (ICJ) court upheld the rights Costa Ricans had to navigate for commercial purposes to subsistence fishing on their side of the river. An 1858 treaty extended navigation rights to Costa Rica, but Nicaragua denied passenger travel and fishing were part of the deal; the court ruled Costa Ricans on the river were not required to have Nicaraguan tourist cards or visas as Nicaragua alleged, but, in a nod to the Nicaraguans, ruled Costa Rican boats and passengers must stop at the first and last Nicaraguan port along their route. They must also have an identity document or passport. Nicaragua can also impose timetables on Costa Rican traffic. Nicaragua may require Costa Rican boats to display the flag of Nicaragua, but may not charge them for departure clearance from its ports. These were all specific items of contention brought to the court in the 2005 filing.[54]
On June 1, 2007, Costa Rica broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan, switching recognition to the People's Republic of China. Costa Rica was the first of the Central American nations to do so. President Óscar Arias Sánchez admitted the action was a response to economic exigency.[55] In appreciation, the PRC built Costa Rica a new, $100 million, state-of-the-art football stadium in Parque la Sabana, in the province of San José. Approximately 600 Chinese engineers and laborers took part in this project, and it was inaugurated in March 2011, with a match between the Costa Rica and China national teams.
Costa Rica finished a term on the United Nations Security Council, having been elected for a nonrenewable, two-year term in the 2007 election. Its term expired on 31 December 2009; this was Costa Rica's third time on the Security Council.
Flora and fauna[link]
See also: Wildlife of Costa Rica and List of birds of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.25% of the world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity.[56][57] Around 25% of the country's land area is in protected national parks and protected areas,[58][59] the largest percentage of protected areas in the world (developing world average 13%, developed world average 8%).[46][60][61] Costa Rica has successfully managed to diminish deforestation from some of the worst rates in the world from 1973 to 1989, to almost zero by 2005.[46]
One national park, the Corcovado National Park, is internationally renowned among ecologists for its biodiversity (including big cats and tapirs) and is where visitors can expect to see an abundance of wildlife.[62][63] Corcovado is the one park in Costa Rica where all four Costa Rican monkey species can be found.[64] These include the white-headed capuchin, the mantled howler,the endangered Geoffroy's spider monkey[64][65] and the Central American squirrel monkey, found only on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and a small part of Panama, and considered endangered until 2008, when its status was upgraded to vulnerable. Deforestation, illegal pet-trading, and hunting are the main reasons for its threatened status.[66]
Tortuguero National Park—the name Tortuguero can be translated as "Full of Turtles"—is home to spider, howler and white-throated capuchin monkeys; the three-toed sloth and two-toed sloth; 320 species of birds; and a variety of reptiles. The park is recognized for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle, and is the most important nesting site for the species. Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest there.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is home to about 2,000 plant species,[67] including numerous orchids. Over 400 types of birds and more than 100 species of mammals can be found there.[67]
As a whole, around 700 species of birds have been identified in Costa Rica. The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad is allowed to collect royalties on any biological discoveries of medical importance.
Costa Rica is a center of biological diversity for reptiles and amphibians, including the world's fastest running lizard, the spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis).[68]
Demographics[link]
Main articles: Demographics of Costa Rica and Costa Rican people
| Costa Rican Censuses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | %± |
| 1864 | 120,499 | — |
| 1883 | 182,073 | 51.1 |
| 1892 | 243,205 | 33.6 |
| 1927 | 471,524 | 93.9 |
| 1950 | 800,875 | 69.8 |
| 1963 | 1,336,274 | 66.9 |
| 1973 | 1,871,780 | 40.1 |
| 1984 | 2,416,809 | 29.1 |
| 2000 | 3,810,179 | 57.7 |
| 2011 | 4,301,712 | 12.9 |
The 2011 census counted a population of 4,301,712 people.[69] Whites and castizos being 82% and mestizos 15%,[70] while 2% are Black, or Afro-Caribbean, 0.8% Native American, 0.2% Chinese, and 1% other.[2] The average Costa Rican from the Central Valley is 75% European, 20% Amerindian and 5% Black.[71]
There are also over 60,000 Native American or indigenous inhabitants, representing 0.8% of the population. Most of them live in secluded reservations, distributed among eight ethnic groups: Quitirrisí (in the Central Valley), Matambú or Chorotega (Guanacaste), Maleku (northern Alajuela), Bribri (southern Atlantic), Cabécar (Cordillera de Talamanca), Guaymí (southern Costa Rica, along the Panamá border), Boruca (southern Costa Rica) and Térraba (southern Costa Rica).
The population of European ancestry is primarily of Spanish descent,[2] with significant numbers of Italian, German, English, Dutch, French, Irish, Portuguese, Lebanese and Polish families, as well a sizable Jewish community. The majority of the Afro-Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of 19th century black Jamaican immigrant workers.
The 2000 census classified 94% of the population as white or mestizo and less than 3% as black or Amerindian. Native and European mixed blood populations are far less than in other Latin American countries. Exceptions are Guanacaste, where almost half the population is visibly mestizo, a legacy of the more pervasive unions between Spanish colonists and Chorotega Amerindians through several generations, and Limón, where the vast majority of the Afro-Costa Rican community lives.
Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia and Nicaragua. As a result of that and illegal immigration, an estimated 10–15% (400,000–600,000) of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans.[72][73] Some Nicaraguans migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. Costa Rica took in many refugees from a range of other Latin American countries fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the 1970s and 1980s, notably from Chile and Argentina, as well as people from El Salvador who fled from guerrillas and government death squads.[74]
According to the World Bank, in 2010 about 489,200 immigrants lived in the country, mainly from Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize, while 125,306 Costa Ricans live abroad in the United States, Panama, Nicaragua, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador.[75]
Health[link]
The World Bank estimates the life expectancy at birth for Costa Ricans in 2008 is 79 years, a figure unchanged since 2005.[76] The Nicoya Peninsula is considered one of the Blue Zones in the world, where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years.[77][78]
In 2002, there were 0.58 new general practitioner (medical) consultations and 0.33 new specialist consultations per capita, and a hospital admission rate of 8.1%. Preventive health care is also successful. In 2002, 96% of Costa Rican women used some form of contraception, and antenatal care services were provided to 87% of all pregnant women. All children under one have access to well-baby clinics, and the immunization coverage rate in 2002 was above 91% for all antigens.[citation needed] Costa Rica has a very low malaria incidence of 48 per 100,000 in 2000 and no reported cases of measles in 2002. The perinatal mortality rate dropped from 12.0 per 1000 in 1972 to 5.4 per 1000 in 2001.[79]
Costa Rica has been cited in various journals as Central America's great health success story.[citation needed] Its healthcare system is ranked higher than that of the United States, despite having a fraction of its GDP.[80] Prior to 1940, government hospitals and charities provided most health care delivery. But since the 1941 creation of the Social Security Administration (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social – CCSS), Costa Rica has provided universal health care to its wage-earning residents, with coverage extended to dependants over time. In 1973, the CCSS took over administration of all 29 of the country's public hospitals and all health care, also launching a Rural Health Program (Programa de Salud Rural) for primary care to rural areas, later extended to primary care services nationwide. In 1993, laws were passed to enable elected health boards that represented health consumers, social security representatives, employers, and social organizations. By the year 2000, social health insurance coverage was available to 82% of the Costa Rican population. Each health committee manages an area equivalent to one of the 83 administrative cantons of Costa Rica. There is limited use of private, for-profit services (around 14.4% of the national total health expenditure). About 7% of GDP is allocated to the health sector, and over 70% is government funded. There are some threats to the universal health care model.
Primary health care facilities in Costa Rica include health clinics, with a general practitioner, nurse, clerk, pharmacist and a primary health technician. In 2008, there were five specialty national hospitals, three general national hospitals, seven regional hospitals, 13 peripheral hospitals, and 10 major clinics serving as referral centers for primary care clinics, which also deliver biopsychosocial services, family and community medical services and promotion and prevention programs. Patients can choose private health care to avoid waiting lists.[citation needed]
Costa Rica is among the Latin America countries that have become popular destinations for medical tourism.[81][82] In 2006, Costa Rica received 150,000 foreigners that came for medical treatment.[81][82][83] Costa Rica is particularly attractive to American tourists because of its proximity and short flight, the quality of medical services, and lower medical costs.[82]
Religion[link]
Main article: Religion in Costa Rica
Christianity is the predominant religion, and Roman Catholicism is the official state religion according to the 1949 Constitution, which at the same time guarantees freedom of religion.
According to the most recent nationwide survey of religion, conducted in 2007 by the University of Costa Rica, 70.5% of Costa Ricans are Roman Catholics, 44.9% of the population are practicing Catholics, 13.8% are evangelical Protestants, 11.3% report they do not have a religion, and 4.3% belonged to another.
Because of the recent small but continuous immigration from Asia and the Middle East, other religions have grown, the most popular being Buddhism (because of a growing Han Chinese community of 40,000), and smaller numbers of Hindu, Jewish, Bahá’í, and Muslim adherents.
The Sinagoga Shaarei Zion synagogue [84] is near La Sabana Metropolitan Park in San José. Several homes in the neighborhood east of the park display the Star of David and other Jewish symbols.[85]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) claim more than 35,000 members, and has a temple in San Jose that served as a regional worship center for Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, and Honduras.[86] However, they represent less than 1% of the population.[87][88]
Languages[link]
Main article: Languages of Costa Rica
The primary language spoken in Costa Rica is Costa Rican Spanish. Some native languages are still spoken in indigenous reservations. The most numerically important are the Bribri, Maléku, Cabécar and Ngäbere languages, some of which have several thousand speakers in Costa Rica – others a few hundred. Some languages, such as Teribe and Boruca, have fewer than a thousand speakers. A Creole-English language, Jamaican patois (also known as Mekatelyu), is spoken along the Caribbean coast. About 10.7% of Costa Rica's adult population (18 or older) also speaks English, 0.7% French, and 0.3% speaks Portuguese or German as a second language.[89]
Culture[link]
Main article: Culture of Costa Rica
See also: Costa Rican cuisine
Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The northwest of the country, the Nicoya peninsula, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) came in the 16th century. The central and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. The Atlantic coast, meanwhile, was populated with African workers during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Costa Rican cuisine is a blend of Native American, Spanish, African and many other cuisine origins. Dishes such as the very traditional tamale and many others made of corn are the most representative of its indigenous inhabitants, and similar to other neighboring Mesoamerican countries. Spaniards brought many new ingredients to the country from other lands, especially spices and domestic animals. And later in the 19th century, the African flavor lent its presence with influence from other Caribbean mixed flavors. This is how Costa Rican cuisine today is very varied, with every new ethnic group who had recently become part of the country's population influencing the country's cuisine.[90][unreliable source?]
As a result of the immigration of Spaniards, their 16th-century Spanish culture and its evolution marked everyday life and culture until today, with Spanish language and the Catholic religion as primary influences.
The Department of Culture, Youth, and Sports is in charge of the promotion and coordination of cultural life. The work of the department is divided into Direction of Culture, Visual Arts, Scenic Arts, Music, Patrimony and the System of Libraries. Although the department creates many initiatives, they are constrained by lack of resources.[citation needed] Permanent programs, such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica and the Youth Symphony Orchestra, are conjunctions of two areas of work: Culture and Youth.[citation needed]
Dance-oriented genres, such as soca, salsa, bachata, merengue, cumbia and Costa Rican swing are enjoyed increasingly by older rather than younger people. The guitar is popular, especially as an accompaniment to folk dances; however, the marimba was made the national instrument.
"Pura Vida" is the most recognizable phrase attached to Costa Ricans, and it reflects the Costa Rican way of life. Often, people walking down the streets, or buying food at shops say hello by saying "Pura Vida", which means pure life, or good life. It can be phrased as a question or as an acknowledgement of one's presence. A recommended response to "How are you?" would be "Pura Vida".[citation needed]
Education[link]
Main article: Education in Costa Rica
The literacy rate in Costa Rica is 94.9%,[2] one of the highest in Latin America. When the army was abolished in 1949, it was said that the "army would be replaced with an army of teachers."[91] Elementary and high schools are found throughout the country in practically every community. Universal public education is guaranteed in the constitution. Primary education is obligatory, and both preschool and high school are free. There are only a few schools in Costa Rica that go beyond the 12th grade. Students who finish 11th grade receive a Costa Rican Bachillerato Diploma accredited by the Costa Rican Ministry of Education.
There are both state and private universities, with the public universities being regarded as the best in the country, as well as being one of the best means of social mobility, given the large proportion of the budget spent to subsidize students from poor families. The University of Costa Rica has been awarded the title "Meritorious Institution of Costa Rican Education and Culture". In recent years, many private universities and colleges have consolidated because demand for higher education exceeds places available in the public sector.
See also[link]
- Outline of Costa Rica
- Index of Costa Rica-related articles
- International rankings of Costa Rica
- List of countries without armed forces
- List of soccer clubs in Costa Rica
- Public Finances in Costa Rica
References[link]
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- ^ Hassel Fallas (2008-12-18). "Llegada de turistas dejará $2.200 millones este año" (in Spanish). La Nación. http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2008/diciembre/18/economia1815172.html. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ^ Departamento de Estadísticas ICT (2009). "Anuário Estadístico 2008" (in Spanish) (PDF). Intituto Costarricense de Turismo. http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/modEst/estudios_estadisticas.asp?idIdioma=2. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
- ^ Altés, Carmen (2006). "El Turismo en América Latina y el Caribe y la experiencia del BID". Inter-American Development Bank; Sustainable Development Department, Technical Paper Series ENV-149, Washington, D.C. available at http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=984876.+p. 9 and 47.
- ^ José Enrique Rojas (2004-12-29). "Turismo, principal motor de la economía durante el 2004" (in Spanish). La Nación. http://www.elempleo.co.cr/clientes/news_cli.asp?not_id=22. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ Honey, Martha (1999). Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?. Island Press; 1 edition, Washington, D.C.. p. 5. ISBN 1-55963-582-7.
- ^ a b Jennifer Blanke and Thea Chiesa, Editors (2011). "Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011". World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TravelTourismCompetitiveness_Report_2011.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
- ^ a b c d e Jessica Brown and Neil Bird 2010. Costa Rica sustainable resource management: Successfully tackling tropical deforestation. London: Overseas Development Institute
- ^ Costa Rica taxing firms that dump wastewater into rivers. Latin American Herald Tribune (2009-04-07).
- ^ Sawin, Janet L. (2007-11-07). ": Bright Green: Costa Rica and New Zealand on Path to Carbon Neutrality". Worldchanging. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007549.html. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
- ^ "Costa Rica Nears Carbon-Neutral Goal". Carbonoffsetsdaily.com. 2010-07-31. http://www.carbonoffsetsdaily.com/news-channels/global/costa-rica-nears-carbon-neutral-goal-40863.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ^ "Costa Rican Ministry of International Relations Declaration of Objectives". Costa Rican Ministry of International relations. http://www.rree.go.cr/?sec=ministerio&cat=politica%20exterior. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ Costa Rica re-establishes ties with Cuba CNN World, 2009-03-18.
- ^ "IJC Court Ruling". nacion.com. http://www.nacion.com/2011-03-08/ElPais/UltimaHora/UH-HAYA1.aspx. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
- ^ "International Court of Justice recent provisional Costa Rica-Nicaragua decision". http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/150/16324.pdf?PHPSESSID=dfc78e071a095818c7de6e8f8f29aa1b. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ^ "WORLD COURT SETTLES SAN JUAN RIVER DISPUTE; NICARAGUA AND COSTA RICA BOTH CLAIM VICTORY". Allbusiness.com. 2009-07-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20110511230540/http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/legal-services-litigation/12579933-1.html. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ Costa Rica Boots Taiwan, Welcomes China In Diplomatic Switch. allbusiness.com (2007-06-14). Retrieved: 2010-05-20
- ^ Leo Hickman (2007-05-26). "Shades of green". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/may/26/saturday.costarica. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ Honey, Martha (1999). Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?. Island Press; 1 edition, Washington, D.C.. pp. 128–181. ISBN 1-55963-582-7. Chapter 5. Costa Rica: On the Beaten Path
- ^ "United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. "Issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries and recommendations on any further process"" (PDF). http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2006/sbsta/eng/misc05.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ Earth Trends (2003). "Biodiversity and Protected Areas – Costa Rica" (PDF). World Resources Institute. http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/bio_cou_188.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ "Costa Rica National Parks and Reserves". World Headquarters. 2007. http://www.worldheadquarters.com/cr/protected_areas/. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ Leonardo Coutinho and Otávio Cabral (2008-05-21). "O desafio da economia verde" (in Portuguese). Revista Veja. http://planetasustentavel.abril.com.br/noticia/desenvolvimento/conteudo_280147.shtml?func=2. Retrieved 2008-06-08. Published on website "Planeta Sustentável"
- ^ Corcovado National Park
- ^ "Diversity of Corcovado National Park". Govisitcostarica.com. http://www.govisitcostarica.com/region/city.asp?cID=350. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ a b Hunter, L. & Andrew, D. (2002). Watching Wildlife Central America. Lonely Planet. p. 97. ISBN 1-86450-034-4.
- ^ Cuarón, A.D., Morales, A., Shedden, A., Rodriguez-Luna, E. & de Grammont, P.C. (2008). Ateles geoffroyi. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 20 February 2009.
- ^ Wong, G., Cuarón, A.D., Rodriguez-Luna, E. & de Grammont, P.C. (2008). Saimiri oerstedii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve". Govisitcostarica.com. http://www.govisitcostarica.com/region/city.asp?cID=402. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ Garland, T., Jr. (1984). "Physiological correlates of locomotory performance in a lizard: an allometric approach". American Journal of Physiology 247 (5 Pt 2): R806–R815. PMID 6238543. http://www.biology.ucr.edu/people/faculty/Garland/Garl1984.pdf.
- ^ Costa Rica births decreasing The Tico Times, 2011-12-23
- ^ "Costa Rica". U.S. Department of State.
- ^ Wang, Sijia; Ray, Nicolas; Rojas, Winston; Parra, Maria V.; Bedoya, Gabriel; Gallo, Carla; Poletti, Giovanni; Mazzotti, Guido et al. (2008). McVean, Gil. ed. "Geographic Patterns of Genome Admixture in Latin American Mestizos". PLoS Genetics 4 (3): e1000037. DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000037. PMC 2265669. PMID 18369456. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2265669.
- ^ www.state.gov Background Note: Costa Rica – People
- ^ Dickerson, Marla; Kimitch, Rebecca (2006-03-23). "Costa Rica Seeks to Shut Its Doors to Illegal Migrants From Nicaragua". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2006/mar/23/world/fg-costa23. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ Biesanz, Karen Zubris; Biesanz, Mavis Hiltunen; Biesanz, Richard (1998). The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 118. ISBN 1-55587-737-0.
- ^ "Costa Rica country profile (from the Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011)". World Bank. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1199807908806/CostaRica.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
- ^ "Costa Rica Country Data". http://data.worldbank.org/country/costa-rica. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ^ Anne Casselman (2008-04-14). "Long-Lived Costa Ricans Offer Secrets to Reaching 100". National Geographic News. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080414-longest-lived.html. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ^ Dan Buettner (2007-02-02). "Report from the 'Blue Zone': Why Do People Live Long in Costa Rica?". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/LivingLonger/story?id=2843049&page=1. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ^ Unger, Jean-Pierre; Buitrón, René; Soors, Werner; Soors, W. (2008). "Costa Rica: Achievements of a Heterodox Health Policy". American Journal of Public Health 98 (4): 636–643. DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2006.099598. PMC 2376989. PMID 17901439. http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/full/98/4/636.
- ^ Jacob, Brian (2009). "CLOSING THE GAPS: The Challenge to Protect Costa Rica's Health Care System". The Georgetown Public Policy Review (77). https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=15+Geo.+Public+Pol%27y+Rev.+77&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=c9ac6e737b89580642db61a5300fe8fc.
- ^ a b Herrick, Devon M. (2007). Medical Tourism: Global Competition in Health Care. National Center for Policy Analysis, Dallas, Texas. pp. 4–6, 9. ISBN 1-56808-178-2. http://web.archive.org/web/20110720093845/http://www.unf.edu/brooks/center/pdfs/Medical%20Tourism%20Herrick.pdf.
- ^ a b c Bookman, Milica Z.; Bookman, Karla R. (2007). Medical Tourism in Developing Countries. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. pp. 3–4, 58, 95, and 134–135. ISBN 978-0-230-60006-5.
- ^ "Medical Tourism Statistics and Facts". Health-Tourism.com. http://www.health-tourism.com/medical-tourism/statistics/. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
- ^ Centro Israelita de Costa Rica, Comunidad Judía de Costa Rica, Costa Rican Jewish Community
- ^ "Jewish Community in Costa Rica". Jcpa.org. http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/costarica.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ Costa Rica. LDS Newsroom. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
- ^ "San José Costa Rica LDS (Mormon) Temple". Ldschurchtemples.com. http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/sanjose/. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "List of LDS (Mormon) temples in Central America and the Caribbean". Lds.org. http://www.lds.org/temples/geographical/0,11380,1899-1---19,00.html. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ Jairo Villegas (2008-03-13). "Solo 1 de cada 10 adultos habla un segundo idioma". La Nación (Costa Rica). http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2008/marzo/11/pais1457622.html. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ "Costa Rican Typical Food". Southerncostarica.biz. http://www.southerncostarica.biz/General/cat-others/Costarican-Typical-Food/179/. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ^ Abolición del Ejército en Costa Rica. Ministerio de Cultura, Juventud y Deportes, San José, Costa Rica. 2004. ISBN 9968-856-21-5
Further reading[link]
- Edelman, Marc. Peasants Against Globalization: Rural Social Movements in Costa Rica Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999.
- Sebastian Huhn: Contested Cornerstones of Nonviolent National Self-Perception in Costa Rica: A Historical Approach, 2009.
- Lara, Sylvia Lara, Tom Barry, and Peter Simonson. Inside Costa Rica: The Essential Guide to Its Politics, Economy, Society and Environment London: Latin America Bureau, 1995.
- Lehoucq, Fabrice E. and Ivan Molina. Stuffing the Ballot Box: Fraud, Electoral Reform, and Democratization in Costa Rica Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
- Lehoucq, Fabrice E. Policymaking, Parties, and Institutions in Democratic Costa Rica, 2006.
- Palmer, Steven and Iván Molina. The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2004.
- Sandoval, Carlos. Threatening Others: Nicaraguans and the Formation of National Identities in Costa Rica Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004.
- Wilson, Bruce M. Costa Rica: Politics, Economics, and Democracy: Politics, Economics and Democracy. Boulder, London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998.
- Blake, Beatrice. "The New Key to Costa Rica" Berkeley, California: Ulysses Press, 2009.
External links[link]
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- Costa Rica entry at The World Factbook
- Costa Rica at UCB Libraries GovPubs
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- Wikimedia Atlas of Costa Rica
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Look up san josé in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
San José, or San Jose, is the Spanish for Saint Joseph. It usually refers to one of two major cities. These are:
- San José, Costa Rica, the capital of Costa Rica
- San Jose, California, the tenth most populous city in the United States
|
San José, or San Jose may also refer to:
Places[link]
Argentina:
- San José, Entre Ríos
- San José de Feliciano, Entre Ríos
- San José de Jáchal, San Juan
- San José de Metán, Salta
Belize:
Chile:
Colombia:
- San José de Cúcuta, the unused official name of the city and municipality of Cúcuta, Norte de Santander
- San José del Guaviare a town and municipality in the Guaviare Department
- Valle San José a town and municipality in the Santander Department
- San Jose de Ocune a town and municipality in the Vichada Department
- San José, Caldas a town and municipality in the Caldas Department
Costa Rica:
- San José Province, a province
- San José Canton, a canton in the province of San José
- San José de Alajuela, a village and district in the canton of Alajuela in the province of Alajuela
- San José de Atenas, a district in the canton of Atenas in the province of Alajuela
- San José de El Amparo, a village in the district of El Amparo in the canton of Los Chiles in the province of Alajuela
- San José de Grecia, a village and district in the canton of Grecia in the province of Alajuela
- San José de Naranjo, a district in the canton of Naranjo in the province of Alajuela
- San José de San Isidro, a district in the canton of San Isidro in the province of Heredia
- San José de Upala, also known as Pizote, a district in the canton of Upala in the province of Alajuela
- San Jose de la Montaña de Barva, a village and district in the canton of Barva in the province of Heredia
- San José Sur de Atenas, a village in the district of San José in the canton of Atenas in the province of Alajuela
Ecuador:
Guatemala:
- San José Acatempa
- San José Chacayá
- San José El Idolo
- San José La Arada
- San José Ojetenam
- San José Pinula
- San José Poaquil
- San José del Golfo
- San José, El Petén
- San José, Escuintla
- Puerto San José
Northern Mariana Islands:
- San Jose, Saipan village, Saipan
- San Jose, Tinian village, Tinian
Mexico:
- San José, Durango
- San José, Querétaro
- San José, San Luis Potosí
- San José, Sonora
- San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur
- San José Iturbide, Guanajuato
- San José Xicoténcatl, Tlaxcala
- San José Villa de Allende, State of México
Panama:
- David, Panama, officially called San José de David
Paraguay:
Peru:
- San José District (disambiguation), districts in Peru.
Philippines:
- San Jose, Batangas
- San Jose, Camarines Sur
- San Jose, Dinagat Islands
- San Jose, Negros Oriental
- San Jose, Northern Samar
- San Jose City, Nueva Ecija
- San Jose, Occidental Mindoro
- San Jose, Romblon
- San Jose, Tarlac
- San Jose de Buan, Samar
- San Jose de Buenavista, Antique
- San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan
- San Jose Sico, Batangas, Batangas
Spain:
- San José de Níjar, Almería
- San José, Ibiza
- San José del Valle, Cádiz
United States:
- San Jose, Arizona, a community in Graham County, Arizona
- San Jose, Arizona, a satellite town, part of the city of Bisbee, Arizona
- San Jose, California, tenth largest city in the United States and third largest in California
- South San Jose Hills, California
- San Jose, Illinois
Uruguay:
Islands[link]
- San José Island (Texas)
- San José Island, Lower California
- Isla de San José, an island in Panama
- Weddell Island, ("Isla San José" in Spanish), Falklands
Institutions and organizations[link]
- Club San José, a Bolivian football team
- Mission San Jose, a mission in California, USA
- San Jose Earthquakes, an MLS football team
- San Jose Sharks - NHL ice hockey team
- San Jose SaberCats - AFL arena football team
Colleges and universities[link]
- Colegio Diocesano de Sao José, Macau
- Colegio San José, Puerto Rico
- San Jose Seminary, Quezon City, Philippines
- San Jose State University, California, USA
- University of San Jose-Recoletos, Philippines
Animal species[link]
- The San Jose Island Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys insularis
- The San Jose Brush Rabbit, Sylvilagus mansuetus
Other[link]
- Club Deportivo San José, a soccer team from Bolivia
- 6216 San Jose, an asteroid
- "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?", a Burt Bacharach song
- Palacio San José, a historical building and museum in Entre Ríos, Argentina
- San Jose Mercury News, a daily newspaper
- San José Mine, in Copiapó, Chile
- San José Volcano, on the Chilean–Argentine border
- San José, one of the ships involved in Wager’s Action
- San Jose River, a river in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada
- San José a Spanish ship captured by the Royal Navy in 1797 and renamed (HMS) San Josef.
See also[link]
 |
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