The capital of the Central American country of Costa Rica, San José is tucked in a high valley amid volcanic peaks. At about 3,800 feet (1,160 meters) above sea level, San Jose has a pleasant climate, though it is in a tropical area. Its metropolitan area is home to nearly one Costa Rican in three.

Places of interest

San Jose is a modern city whose streets are laid out in a grid pattern. Its notable buildings include a 19th-century Roman Catholic cathedral and the national theater. The theater is a copy of the building that houses the Paris Opéra, in France.

Costa Rica's national museum has exhibits devoted to history and to nature. The city has a jade museum that displays Native American carvings of the green gemstone. Another museum features gold objects from the period before the arrival of Europeans in the region.

The city has fine parks, and there are national parks in the outlying areas. The most notable of these is Irazú Volcano National Park, with a volcanic peak rising 11,260 feet (3,432 meters) high.

Economy

San José is Costa Rica's economic center. Services are very important, with thousands of people working in government agencies, business offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, and shops. Factories in San José make food and tobacco products, beverages, cloth, chemicals, and machinery.

San José is on the Pan-American Highway, a major trade route. The city is also served by railways. San José has an international airport and a domestic airport.

History

Native Americans have lived in the highland region of San José for many thousands of years. More than 3,000 years ago, they settled into communities of farmers. Christopher Columbus landed on the coast in 1502, but Europeans did not settle the highlands until 1564, when the village of Cartago was organized.

San José was founded in 1736 by people from Cartago. They gave the new town the name of Villa Nueva. It was later renamed San José, after its patron saint, Saint Joseph. In 1823, after gaining independence, the country fought a civil war. San José was on the winning side, and it became the national capital. In the 1840s large coffee plantations grew up around the city.

San José grew rapidly in the second half of the 20th century, mainly because people moved there from rural areas.The city suffered from heavy rains of ash when the volcano Irazú erupted in 1963 and 1964. The city was soon cleaned up. Air pollution due to human activity became a problem at the end of the 20th century. Population (2000 estimate), city, 344,349; metropolitan area, 1,082,269.