Osa (canton)

Osa is a canton in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Puerto Cortés district.

History
Osa was created on 29 July 1940 by decree 185. In pre-Columbian times was populated by Boruca which left legacies such as fields and stone walkways.

Geography
Osa has an area of 1,930.24 km2 and a mean elevation of 24 metres.

The canton begins at the Barú River near Dominical on the central Pacific coast. It continues as a narrow strip of land southward to include the area around Palmar and Sierpe, finally widening to take in the entire neck and upper portion of the Osa Peninsula, where significant gold mining operations are located. As its name suggests, humpback whales and dolphins migrate into the waters to calve, mate, and to rest. Whale watching is available along the coasts. Isla del Caño is part of Osa canton.

Districts
The canton of Osa is subdivided into the following districts:
 * 1) Puerto Cortés
 * 2) Palmar
 * 3) Sierpe
 * 4) Bahía Ballena
 * 5) Piedras Blancas
 * 6) Bahía Drake

Demographics
For the 2011 census, Osa had a population of 29,433 inhabitants.

Road transportation
The canton is covered by the following road routes: • CR RNP 2.svg National Route 2

• CR RNP 34.svg National Route 34

• CR RNS 168.svg National Route 168

• CR RNS 223.svg National Route 223

• CR RNS 245.svg National Route 245

Conservation and tourism
In the canton there are conservation areas that are part of the Osa Conservation Area, such as Corcovado National Park, Ballena Marine National Park and Piedras Blancas National Park. The stone spheres of Costa Rica are found in this canton.