Puntarenas () is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

coast, and it is the largest province in

. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces Guanacaste,

Alajuela Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of the province, it i ...

, San José and

Limón Limón (), commonly known as Puerto Limón, is a district, the capital city and main hub of Limón province, as well as of the Limón canton in Costa Rica. It is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over 55,000, and is ho ...

, and the neighbouring country of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Overview

The capital is

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas canton of Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which is made from the Puntarenas, Chacarita and ...

. The province covers an area of , and has a population of 410,929.Resultados Generales Censo 2011
p. 22 It is subdivided into 11

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

. For administrative purposes, the island

Isla del Coco Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarena ...

, offshore in the Pacific Ocean, is considered a part of this province. Canton (Capital): #

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

(

) # Corredores (Ciudad Neily at Corredor district) #

Coto Brus Coto Brus is a Cantons of Costa Rica, canton in the Puntarenas Province, Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. The head city is in San Vito (Costa Rica), San Vito district. History Coto Brus was created on 10 December 1965 by decree 3598. Geogra ...

( San Vito) # Esparza (Esparza city at

Espíritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific regio ...

district) # Garabito ( Jacó) #

Golfito Golfito is a district and port town of the Golfito canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica, located on the southern Pacific Coast, near the border of Panama. Toponymy Literally translated as 'little gulf'. Geography Golfito has an ...

(

) #

Montes de Oro Montes de Oro is a canton in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Miramar district. History Montes de Oro was created on 17 July 1915 by decree 42. Geography Montes de Oro has an area of km² and a mean elevation of ...

( Miramar) # Osa ( Ciudad Cortés) #

Parrita Parrita is a canton and its only district in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. Toponymy The origin of the name, it is said, has to do with a woman named Rita who lived in one of the original settlements. Rita had a business and received pa ...

(

) #

(

) # Quepos ( Quepos) #

Monteverde Monteverde is the twelfth canton of the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. It is located in the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range. Roughly a four-hour drive from the Central Valley, Monteverde is one of the country's major ecotourism des ...

(

) #

Puerto Jiménez Puerto Jiménez is the thirteenth canton of the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. It is located in the Osa Peninsula next to the Golfo Dulce and the Pacific Ocean, it is the main gateway to the Corcovado National Park. History As a distr ...

(

)

Notable places

* Jacó *

Manuel Antonio National Park Manuel Antonio National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio) is a small national park in the Central Pacific Conservation Area located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, just south of the city of Quepos, Puntarenas, and from the nation ...

* Montezuma *

San Lucas Island San Lucas Island National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Isla San Lucas) is an island located off the Pacific shore of Costa Rica in the Gulf of Nicoya. It is part of the Puntarenas district of Puntarenas Canton of the province of Puntarenas. Formerl ...

* Coto 47 CRI 04 2013 Puerto Caldera 6307

References

External links

Provinces of Costa Rica {{CostaRica-geo-stub