Desamparados (canton)

Desamparados is the 3rd canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 118.26 km2, and has a population of 206,708, making it the third most populated among the 81 cantons of Costa Rica. The canton's capital city is also called Desamparados.

The canton begins in the southern suburbs of the national capital city of San José, with the Río Tiribí marking its northern boundary. It snakes its way south as a backward ´S´, finally reaching its southern limit at the Río Tarrazú. It contains the bigger of the last forest lungs in the metropolitan area of the Costa Rican capital, the Loma Salitral, which conservation issues have generated social conflicts between community environmentalists and immobility developers, as it is seen as an identity mark of the desamparadeño people and a vital infiltration area to prevent the frequents and disastrous floods in the district of Gravilias.

Urban areas claim 80.4% of the canton's population. Those under age 10 comprise 19.8% of its inhabitants, while 5.1% are over 65.

Districts
The canton of Desamparados is subdivided into 13 districts (distritos):


 * 1) Desamparados
 * 2) San Miguel
 * 3) San Juan de Dios
 * 4) San Rafael Arriba
 * 5) San Antonio
 * 6) Frailes
 * 7) Patarrá
 * 8) San Cristóbal
 * 9) Rosario
 * 10) Damas
 * 11) San Rafael Abajo
 * 12) Gravilias
 * 13) Los Guido

History
The canton was established by a legislative decree of November 4, 1862.

Sports
The football soccer club Orión F.C. de Desamparados plays here.

Demographics
For the 2011 census, Desamparados had a population of 208,411 inhabitants.

Road transportation
The following road routes cover the canton: • CR RNS 105.svg National Route 105

• CR RNS 175.svg National Route 175

• CR RNS 206.svg National Route 206

• CR RNS 207.svg National Route 207

• CR RNS 209.svg National Route 209

• CR RNS 210.svg National Route 210

• CR RNS 212.svg National Route 212

• CR RNS 213.svg National Route 213

• CR RNS 214.svg National Route 214

• CR RNS 217.svg National Route 217

• CR RNS 222.svg National Route 222

• CR RNS 226.svg National Route 226

• CR RNT 304.svg National Route 304

• CR RNT 406.svg National Route 406

• CR RNT 409.svg National Route 409

Notable people

 * Máximo Fernández Alvarado
 * Joaquín Garcia Monge
 * Joel Campbell
 * Roy Miller
 * Laura Chinchilla
 * Jorge Alejandro Castro