Heredia

Town in central Costa Rica and administrative capital of the province of Heredia; population (1996) 74,900. Situated in the south of the province at an altitude of 990 m/3,248 ft, it is 10 km/6 mi northwest of San José. Heredia is at the centre of a coffee-growing and agricultural district and lies on the Inter-American Highway. Spanish colonial buildings stand on the town's main square.

Heredia has a temperate climate and flowers are grown commercially on a very small scale.

Heredia

Province of northeast Costa Rica, bordering the Caribbean Sea to the east and Nicaragua to the north; area 2,657 sq km/1,026 sq mi; population (1996) 270,100. The capital is Heredia, in the extreme south of the province. The temperate climate and fertile soils are ideal for coffee growing, which is the province's main source of income. There is also dairy farming here and some tourism.

The province is watered by the tributaries of the San Juan River which flows through the north of the province, where much of the land is low lying and marshy. Tropical lowland occupies the northern and central areas of the province. The south of the province lies in Costa Rica's central plateau.