Puntarenas (canton)

Puntarenas is a canton in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. The head city is Puntarenas.

History
Puntarenas was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.

Geography
Puntarenas has an area of 1,842.33 km² and a mean elevation of 169 metres.

The canton includes areas on both sides of the Gulf of Nicoya. The southern portion of the Nicoya Peninsula is also in the canton, including the popular tourist areas of Tambor, Montezuma and Malpais.

Districts
The canton of Puntarenas is subdivided into the following districts:
 * Puntarenas
 * Pitahaya
 * Chomes
 * Lepanto
 * Paquera
 * Manzanillo
 * Guacimal
 * Barranca
 * Isla del Coco
 * Cóbano
 * Chacarita
 * Chira
 * Acapulco
 * El Roble
 * Arancibia

Monte Verde was the ninth district of the canton, on 29 September 2021 it was segregated to become a canton on its own, the Monteverde canton, the twelfth of Puntarenas province and eighty third of the country.

Demographics
For the 2011 census, Puntarenas had a population of 115,019 inhabitants.

Road transportation
The canton is covered by the following road routes: • CR RNP 1.svg National Route 1

• CR RNP 17.svg National Route 17

• CR RNP 21.svg National Route 21

• CR RNP 23.svg National Route 23

• CR RNS 132.svg National Route 132

• CR RNS 160.svg National Route 160

• CR RNS 163.svg National Route 163

• CR RNT 601.svg National Route 601

• CR RNT 602.svg National Route 602

• CR RNT 603.svg National Route 603

• CR RNT 604.svg National Route 604

• CR RNT 605.svg National Route 605

• CR RNT 606.svg National Route 606

• CR RNT 619.svg National Route 619

• CR RNT 620.svg National Route 620

• CR RNT 621.svg National Route 621

• CR RNT 623.svg National Route 623

• CR RNT 624.svg National Route 624