Cocos Island National Park

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Cocos Island National Park: A Biodiversity Hotspot in the Eastern Pacific

Cocos Island National Park, located approximately 550 kilometers off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is a unique and captivating destination that offers an extraordinary blend of terrestrial and marine biodiversity. This remote island, which is the only island in the tropical eastern Pacific with a tropical rainforest, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Cocos Island National Park, located 550 km off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is the only island in the tropical eastern Pacific with a tropical rainforest. Its position as the first point of contact with the northern equatorial counter-current, and the myriad interactions between the island and the surrounding marine ecosystem, make the area an ideal laboratory for the study of biological processes. The underwater world of the national park has become famous due to the attraction it holds for divers, who rate it as one of the best places in the world to view large pelagic species such as sharks, rays, tuna and dolphins.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

The Committee inscribed Cocos Island National Park under natural criteria (ix) and (x) because of the critical habitats the site provides for marine wildlife including large pelagic species, especially sharks.

Encyclopedia Record: Cocos Island

Cocos Island is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately 550 km southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 15 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarenas. With an area of approximately 23.85 km2 (9.21 sq mi), the island is roughly rectangular in shape. It is the southernmost point of geopolitical North America if non-continental islands are included, and the only landmass above water on the Cocos tectonic plate.

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