COSTA RICA PRINCIPAL PHYSICAL FEATURES OF MONOGRAPH AREA.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000400110006-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 13, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: November 2, 1944
• Content Type: MISC

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? Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/08/23: CIA-RDP08001297R000400110006-2
CONFIDENT' T. C0NPIDETIA
Serial 96-44?R
ISSUED BY THE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION
OFFICE OF CHIEF OF NAV:',L OPEn.A`IONS
NAVY DEP:t1',TLIENT
INT',LLIGENCE REPORT
C--erltx-A &L.-6 .0eA
4.4,1.^-akte C . AI et. ?
k3C2*-.
Monograph Index Guide No. 601-200
From Naval Attache at Guatemala Date
2 November 1944
Source Costa Rican Government Authorities. Evaluation A-2
Subject COSTA RICA Principal Physical Feautres of Frontiers and
Monograph Area. Approaches.
Forwarding 601-200 sections (Frontiers and Approaches) of monograph for
the Republic of Costa Rica, plus one map enclosure of Costa Rica-Panama
boundary and one publication enclosure, delineating Costa Rica-Panama boundary.
Forwarded here with are two pages (exclusive of covering page) of
monograph information, covering the 601-200 section (Frontiers and Approaches)
of the monograph for the Republic of Costa Rica. Also forwarded herewith are
the following enclosures (to ONI only):
Enclosure A--Map of Costa Rica-Panama boundary, prepar
Panama Border Commission, August, 1944.
Enclosure B--Copy of "La GaCeta", official Costa Rica
dated October 7, 1944. Pages 1848-1851 provide 1 ?ma ion
regarding the Costa-Rica-Panama boundary.
COSTA RICA
1-200: FRONTIERS ,NO APFRO,CHES.
A.
Costa Rica-Nicaragua
Border.
til
(7)
1111
(;)
1. Geographical Description. The northern boundary of Costa NI
Rica was de mined by arbitration proceedings which resulted in the Canas-
Jerez Treaty o 1858, and by arbitration proceedings brought before U.S..
President Grover eveland in 1888. The resulting boundary runs as follows
from east-to west: ) The right bank .of the San JualliRiver from Punta
Castilla on the Carib an Sea to a point 3 miles southeast of Castillo Viejo;
(2) a described arc wit its center in Castillo Viejo and a radius of 3 miles;
(3) a line drawn parallel a 2 miles distant from the south bank of the San
Juan River, and from the sou ern end of Lake Nicaragua, until it meets the
Sapoa River; (4) a straight li from this junction to the center of the Bay
of Salinas.
2. Approaches. Access the Central Plateau of Costa Rica
from the northern boundary may best be h via either of two routes; the Inter-
American Highway route, which enters Costa ca at Penes Blancab, but is not
yet (Oct., 1944) graded or drained until the wn of Bagaces is reached; or
the principal tributaries of the San Juan River.N Although jeeps have made
the run from the Nicaraguan border to San Jose, i will be a considerable
time before motor vehicle convoys will be able to u this route. Still, it
is to be noted that landinrs could be made with relative ease in Salinas Bay
or Santa Elena Bay, and both bays are close to the Inter-American Highway.
Approach
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Approach to the Central Plateau from the San Juan River may best be made
via the Frio, San Carlos, or Sarapiqui rivers. In this region, movement
by boat is a necessity, due to dense jungle, swamps and mango growths
between the various rivers. See the map of the Republic of Costa Rica
enclosed with NA Guatemala report. 421-41, dated 25 June 1941, for indica-
tion of the principal trails which cross the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border.
B. Costa Rica-Panama Border.
1. Geographical Description. The southern boundary of
Costa Rica was determined in accordance with the 'ndings of Chief Justice
White of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1914, then modified in a treaty rati-
fied in May, 1941, by the Costa Rican and Panamanian Governments. The
present boundary is described as follows:11From the mouth of the Sixaola
River in the Caribbean Sea, the boundary line foiyws the thalweg of the
Sixaola upstream until Its junction with the Yorkin River; thence follows .
the thalweg of the Yorkin River upstream until it reaches the parallel of
latitude 9? 30' N; thence follows a course of 76? 371 W of S until the
meridian of longitude 82? 561 1011 W is reached; thence follows this meridian
southward to the cordillera whieh separates the waters running into the
Atlantic Ocean from those running into the Pacific Ocean; thence follows
the afore-mentioned cordillera to Cerro Pando, which is the point of union
of thibcordillera with the spur which separates the waters running into
the Gulf of Dulce from the waters running into the Bay of Charco AAul;
thence follows this spur to.the midpoint of Punta Burica on the Pacific.
For full geographical delineation of this boundary line, see Enclosure k
(to ONT only), a map prepared by the Costa Rica-Panama Border Commission; also
see pages 1848-1851 of Enclosure B (to ONI only), the official Costa Rica
Government bulletin of October 7, 1944, which indicates the exact location
of various beundary_markeLPaand reports the official measures taken to
e;Va2Lxa the_boundary_t_r_eaty ratified in May, 1941. In addition to the
above-mentioned boundary dati., Costa Rica and Panama agreed in May, 1941,/T
-
(ht the two countries should hold in perpetuity, and 'under identical ,1?.007
conditions and without limitation or encumbrance of any kind, the right to
fre,e, navigation on the Sixaola River from its confluence with the Yorkin
to its mouth, and on the Yorkin River from parallel of latitude 90 301 N
until its confluence with the Sixaola. Should either of these rivers change
its course, the frontier line would not be affected; both countries would
continue to enjoy the navigation rights granted by this treaty,
2. Approaches. The southern border of Costa Rica is,
for the most part, more mountainous and less accessible than the northern
boundary. At the southeastern extremity of Costa Rica, the border is crossed
by several well-defined trails, the two most commonly used being in the
vicinity of Puerto Viejo and Sipurio. At the southwestern extremity of
Costa Rica's border with Panama, habitation is sparse and progress by land
difficult, but trails cross the frontier in the vicinity of La Cuesta. See
the map of the Republic of Costa Rica enclosed with NA Guatemala report
493-41, dated 25 June 1941, for indication of the principal trails. In
summary, it might be pointed out that entrance into Costa Rica can best be
gained by sea or air, and most profitably in the vicinity of the Puntarenas-
San Jose-Limon axis.
CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL
Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/08/23: CIA-RDPO8001297R000400110006-2