Atenas (canton)

Atenas is a canton in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica.

Toponymy
It is named for the ancient city of Athens in Greece as rendered in Spanish.

History
Atenas was created on 7 August 1868 by decree 30.

Geography
Atenas has an area of 127.19 km2 and a mean elevation of 706 metres.

It is a fairly compact canton, mountainous for the most part. The Grande River forms the border on the canton's north and east sides. As the river moves south, it is joined by two other large rivers, the Poás River and the Virilla River, before turning west again and forming the canton's southern border under a new name, the Grande de Tárcoles River. The western border of the canton is established by a series of creeks and their canyons that cut through the Coastal Mountain Range.

Districts
The canton of Atenas is subdivided into the following districts:
 * 1) Atenas
 * 2) Jesús
 * 3) Mercedes
 * 4) San Isidro
 * 5) Concepción
 * 6) San José
 * 7) Santa Eulalia
 * 8) Escobal

Demographics
For the 2011 census, Atenas had a population of 25,460 inhabitants.

Road transportation
The canton is covered by the following road routes: • CR RNP 3.svg National Route 3

• CR RNP 27.svg National Route 27

• CR RNS 134.svg National Route 134

• CR RNS 135.svg National Route 135

• CR RNT 707.svg National Route 707

• CR RNT 713.svg National Route 713

• CR RNT 716.svg National Route 716

• CR RNT 720.svg National Route 720