Where on Earth...? MISR Mystery Image Quiz #26 : Costa Rica

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This image taken by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) represents an area of about 238 kilometers by 223 kilometers. North is at the top. The country shown in this image is Costa Rica. Answers to the questions are provided.

1. The small island off the coastal inlet in the lower left corner of the image is dominated by mangrove swamps and considered home to protected sea bird sanctuaries. Parts of the island are off-limits for visitors.

   • Answer: TRUE.
     Isla de Chira, or Chira Island, is a Costa Rican Pacific Island located near the upper end of the Gulf of Nicoya, the largest of several islands in the area. Isla de Chira is surrounded by mangroves, which cover the eastern end of the island. Popular with pelicans and frigate birds, and uninhabited except for a few fishermen, farmers and others who eke out a living from salinas (salt pans), these islands are protected seabird sanctuaries and are off-limits for visitors.

2. Settlers were, perhaps, over-optimistic in their naming policy of this country.

   • Answer: TRUE.
     Settlement of Costa Rica began in the 1500s. For nearly three hundred years, Spain administered the region as part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala under a military governor. The Spanish optimistically called the country "Rich Coast" ("Costa Rica"). Finding little gold or other valuable minerals in Costa Rica, however, the Spanish turned to agriculture.

3. The body of water shown on the right side of the image is considered so shallow and situated on a single plate that it is known for its tranquil calm waters and geologic inactivity.

   • Answer: FALSE.
     The Caribbean Sea is divided into five basins separated from each other by underwater ridges and mountain ranges. Despite this, the Caribbean Sea is considered a relatively shallow sea in comparison to other bodies of water. The Caribbean sea floor is also home to two oceanic trenches: the Hispaniola Trench and Puerto Rico Trench, which put the area at a higher risk of earthquakes.

4. The streams and rivers of this country used to be home to a sacred reptile which is now extinct.

   • Answer: FALSE.
     The "sacred reptile" in question is the Common Basilisk, or Jesus Christ Lizard, found in Central and South American rainforests. In Costa Rica, it is found mostly on the Pacific side of the country, while the Green lizard is found on the Atlantic side. It is famous for its ability to walk on water.

5. For centuries, coastal farmers used a powerful fertilizer that covered the rocks on the tip of this peninsula area during the dry season, thus giving this area its descriptive name.

   • Answer: TRUE.
     The Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve is situated at the extreme southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. Since the times of the Conquistadores, it has been known as the "White Cape" or Cabo Blanco because encrusted guano covers the rocks in dry season. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen. It also lacks odor.

6. This animal, which can be found in the National Park located just below the bottom right corner of the image, comes down from its perch twice a day to feed its young.

   • Answer: FALSE.
     The National Park in question is Corcovado National Park, on the south coast of Costa Rica, near to the border with Panama. Corcovado has been called "the most biologically intense place on Earth" by National Geographic. It is home to the two-toed sloth, a nocturnal mammal known for its lethargic behavior, which pretty much spends its life hanging from a tree. The sloth eats, sleeps, mates and gives birth all while hanging upside down. It descends from the canopy once a week to defecate. Forest guides will tell you that sloths do not even climb down in the event that their young falls from the tree.

MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Terra spacecraft is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. The MISR data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center in Hampton, VA.

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
Text acknowledgement: Amber Jenkins and Karen Yuen, JPL