Christopher Columbus, or Cristobal Colon as he is known in Spanish, and his crew were the first Europeans to lay eyes on the shores and forest-covered mountains of Costa Rica. On the great Admiral's fourth and final voyage to the Americas, in 1502, he anchored near what is now the port city and provincial capital of Limon. His brief dealings with the native people he met on the mainland were apparently good-natured, yet this benevolent interaction was not to be the norm during the centuries to come.
Limon conjures up images of Costa Rica's coconut-fringed Caribbean coast. Although the province does indeed extend the length of this coast from the mouth of the San Juan River in the north, to the mouth of the Sixaola River on the Panamanian border the southern sector includes a large area of mountainous terrain that stretches up to the country's highest peak, Mt. Chirripo, in the Talamanca Cordillera. Likewise, the provincial boundaries also climb to over 2,000 m. elevation on the northeastern flank of Turrialba Volcano.
Despite the rise in elevation from sea level to 3,820 meters, Limon is the only one of Costa Rica's seven provinces to be entirely on the Caribbean side of the Continental Divide, and thus its weather is directly affected by the flow of warm, moist air brought in off this body of water by the northeast trade winds. The result is a climate with no pronounced dry season, even though it does tend to be less rainy in the months of March, April, September, and October, and typically rains the most in June, July, August, November, and December. The lowland regions remain warm and humid year round, while the higher portions are both cooler and wetter.
In 1867, the site for a Caribbean port was chosen, and it is said that growing on the spot was an old lemon tree, or limon.
To make the port accessible from the interior of the country, the government decided to construct a railroad and contracted the services of the North American entrepreneur, Minor Keith. Mr. Keith encouraged the migration of hundreds of laborers from the Caribbean to come and work on the railroad, creating a cultural diversity unique to Limon.
Today Limon is a cultural melting pot, with an eclectic ethnic mix of Jamaican, Chinese, Tico and Indigenous peoples. The city currently boasts a population of close to 100,000 people, most of Afro Caribbean heritage. Spanish is spoken as well as a melodious English-based Creole, commonly called Patua. The climate is warm and tropical, the surroundings are beautiful and the recent announcement of a $250 million, eight-year urban-renewal plan aimed at creating new jobs, attracting tourism and improving the quality of life has brought a new focus to the town.
To truly experience the Caribbean spirit of Limon, travelers should plan on visiting the city in October, during Limons colorful annual carnival. Thousands of visitors, mostly Costa Ricans, swarm into town for a festive circus of street parades, dancing, drinking and all night partying. This Mardi Gras-like atmosphere lasts for four days and is the perfect time for indulging in some of the Caribbean's famous culinary delights. Among theses are the "rondon," "pati" "rice n' beans," and a drink called "agua de sapo" (frog water), a refreshment prepared with lemon juice, molasses, ginger and a few other "secret" ingredients.
In April, 1991, a major earthquake, magnitude 7.4, struck Limon, Costa Rica. The epicenter was near Limon on the Caribbean coast. The earthquake struck the whole of Limon Province, killing 53 people, injuring 198, and causing widespread damage to constructed works (EERI, 1991). In particular, the transportation system in Limon Province was devastated. Both rail and highway traffic was immediately obstructed due to widespread disruption of pavements and roadway grades and the collapse of several bridges. Later, after heavy rains, tree falls from the quake were washed into rivers and eventually created dams which soon broke and caused further destruction of bridges. Today, geologic evidence of the quake consists of a general 1.5 meter uplift of the land along the CR southeast coast. The bio-erosive notch is noted now over a meter above sea level. The upper notch was once the former sea level location before the quake.
Geographical Division 
