History of upwelling in the Tropical Eastern Pacific and the paleogeography of the Isthmus of Panama

► Upwelling in the Pacific coast of the Panama Isthmus today occurs where land < 500 m. ► We infer paleoupwelling in the Plio-Pleistocene of eastern Costa Rica-western Panama. ► Strong Pacific coast upwelling persisted until as recently as 0.5-0.3 Ma. ► Elevation of eastern Costa Rica-western Panama was < 500 m until the mid-Pleistocene.