The Las Baulas National Marine Park, also the Playa Grande Marine Turtle National Park or in Spanish is a Nature Reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 of Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area

Tempisque Conservation Area

Tempisque Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by SINAC for the purposes of conservation in the western part of Costa Rica, including the Tempisque River valley and the Nicoya Peninsula...

, and covers approximately 54,000 acres (220 km²) marine near the town of Tamarindo

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Tamarindo is a town and distrito located on the Northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica in the Province of Guanacaste. The district has a population of 3,525, although the town itself is about 500. But it can swell to 5,000 people or more during the tourist season and during special holidays...

. It supports the largest nesting colony of leatherback sea turtles on the Pacific Costa Rican coast. More than half the park is underwater and protected but allows recreation such as scuba diving

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

.

External links

• Las Baulas National Marine Park at Costa Rica National Parks