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 COSTA RICA 393 1841 he was reappointed, and on Jan. 19, 1842, instigated an insurrection in Oporto, which re- sulted in restoring the constitution promul- gated in 1826. He now abolished the decree of the irremovability of the judges, arrogated to himself the supreme control of the army, established a censorship in the public schools, suppressed the universities, loaded the people with taxes, and was driven from power May 17, 1846. In 1849 he was again appointed prime minister, but only to inaugurate a still more stringent dictatorship. He offended the national pride by his conduct of the indemnity question with Great Britain and the United States ; and his brother Sylva, minister of jus- tice, forsaking him and becoming leader of the opposition, the cortes passed a vote of censure, and he resigned. The queen refusing his res- ignation, Saldanha set on foot a revolution at Cintra, which put an end to Costa-Cabral's ad- ministration, April 26, 1851. Saldanha became prime minister of Portugal, and Costa- Cabral fled to England, but returned to Lisbon in Feb- ruary, 1852, resumed his seat in the house of representatives, and became a member of the council of state. From 1859 to 1861 he was ambassador to Brazil. A Portuguese work on his career, Apontamentos historicos, has been partially translated into French under the title, Costa- Cabral, Notes Mstoriques (Paris, 1846). COSTA RICA, a republic of Central America, lying between lat. 8 II 7 and 11 8' N., and Ion. 82 28' and 85 45' W., bounded N. by Nicaragua, N. E. by the Caribbean sea, S. E. by the United States of Colombia, and S. W. by the Pacific ocean ; area, about 22,000 sq. m. ; pop. estimated at 167,000. Capital, San Jos6. The coasts, both on the Atlantic and Pacific, run N. W. and S. E., and are nearly parallel to each other. The breadth of the isthmus be- tween them is at the widest part 100 m., at the narrowest 65 m. The Atlantic coast, which is comparatively low, is about 140 m. long, and is nearly straight, having but two harbors, Matina, on the river of the same name, and Limon, further N., the latter opened in 1857. The Pacific coast is longer and much more ir- regular, being penetrated by two considerable bays. Near the N". extremity the gulf of Ni- coya or Salinas extends inland 60 or 70 m. and covers an area of not less than 1,200 sq. m. ; near the S. extremity is the fine bay called the Golfo Dulce, with an area of 800 sq. m. Both of these are wide at the entrance, which opens toward the south, but grow gradually narrow- er toward the head, and each has a peninsula lying between it and the main ocean. Punta Arenas, the port of San Jose, on the E. side of the gulf of Nicoya, is the best harbor and the only port of entry on the Pacific coast. Cal- dera, S. of Punta Arenas, was once the princi- pal seaport, but was abandoned in favor of the latter in 1840, on account of the unhealth- fulness of its site. Other harbors are Golfo Dulce, Puerto Ingles, Las Mantas, La Culebra, Santa Helena, and Las Salinas; but none of them are open for imports, and vessels enter them only for the products of the country. In the gulfs of Nicoya and Dulce are a num- ber of small islands, the largest of which is Chira, near the head of the former. The main range of the Andes, entering Costa Rica from the southeast, traverses its entire territory, widening toward the northwest, and forming a table land on which are situated the principal towns and centres of population. This plateau is intersected by a series of volcanic peaks, be- ginning with Orosi (8,650 ft. high), which over- looks Lake Nicaragua, and followed in order by La Vieja, Miravalles (4,700 ft.), Los Votos (9,840 ft.), Barba, Cartago or Irazu (11,400 ft.), Turrialba (12,500 ft.), Chirripo, and the peaks, possibly volcanic, of Blanco (11,740 ft.), Ro- valo (7,021 ft.), and Chiriqui (11,265 ft). The general elevation of the chain is from 5,000 to 6,000 ft. From the summit of Cartago both oceans can be seen. Near San Jos6 the range called the Cordillera de Candelaria detaches it- self from the main chain, and trending W. ter- minates on the shores of the Pacific in the vol- cano of the Herradura (horseshoe). On the east the mountains of Matina stretch nearly to the Atlantic. The table land descends abrupt- ly on the southeast, but forms terraces and gentle slopes on the northwest, subsiding grad- ually into the plains of Nicaragua. On the Pacific coast, especially around the gulf of Ni- coya, the country is diversified with valleys and has a most picturesque appearance. The valley of San Jos6 is very beautiful. It occu- pies the centre of the mountainous region of the isthmus, at nearly an equal distance from both oceans, and at an elevation of 4,500 ft. The ground about the capital rises by great un- dulations eastward to the base of the volcano of Cartago, and northward by more gentle slopes to the Barba peaks ; southward it swells to form the San Miguel mountains ; and on the west it declines, the undulations gradually dis-