Economic Importance
The Central Valley had been traditionally the favorite place for Costa Ricans to live, and even today it contains an unequal distribution of population of the country, in relation to its size. This is because of the fertility of land in the region, helped by the influence of volcanoes and rivers that run through the valley. Weather also favours agriculture and farming activities. Because of the agglomeration of population, the valley is the center of commerce, industry and service activities, just helped by ports on both coasts, and by Liberia in Guanacaste (which has the other international airport besides Juan Santamaría Airport in Alajuela) that have similar economic movement.
Costa Rica's Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) covers an extension roughly the same as the Central Valley.
Read more about this topic: Costa Rican Central Valley
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