Sarchí (canton)

Sarchí is a canton in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Sarchí Norte district.

Toponymy
The Sarchí word means Open Field in the Huetar language of the Huetar people that once inhabited the area.

On 7 August 2019, by Law 9658, the canton changed its previous name from Valverde Vega to Sarchí.

History
Sarchí was created on 26 October 1949 by decree 766. It was originally named Valverde Vega in honor of Dr. Carlos Luis Valverde Vega, a medic and founder of the Unión Médica Nacional (National Medical Union) after more than forty years of struggle. The members of the board that worked to create it were Samuel Alfaro Alpízar, Efraím Zamora Castro, Daube Alfaro Castro, Pedro Alfaro Zamora, Hebly Inkseter Soto, Otoniel Alfaro Alfaro, Elécer Pérez Conejo, who are known today as its founders. The canton was inaugurated on 1 January 1950.

Geography
Sarchí has an area of 120.25 km2 and a mean elevation of 1,116 metres.

The elongated canton lies between the Molino and Toro rivers on the northwest and the Sarchí River on the southeast. It reaches northward into a beautiful high valley of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range) between the Poás and Platanar volcanoes.

Districts
The canton of Sarchí is subdivided into the following districts:
 * 1) Sarchí Norte
 * 2) Sarchí Sur
 * 3) Toro Amarillo
 * 4) San Pedro
 * 5) Rodríguez

Demographics
For the 2011 census, Sarchí had a population of 18,085 inhabitants.

Road transportation
The canton is covered by the following road routes: • CR RNS 118.svg National Route 118

• CR RNT 708.svg National Route 708

• CR RNT 710.svg National Route 710

• CR RNT 741.svg National Route 741