Talamanca is a canton in the

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 ...

province of

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 ...

. The head city is

Bribri The Bribri are an Indigenous people in eastern Costa Rica and northern Panama. Today, most Bribri people speak the Bribri language or Spanish. There are varying estimates from government officials of the group's population. Estimates of the t ...

, located in Bratsi district.

History

Talamanca was created on 20 May 1969 by decree 4339.

Geography

Talamanca has an area of km² and a mean elevation of metres. The county is noted for its beautiful beaches, especially in Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, which are popular tourist locations. Talamanca contains one of Costa Rica's three official border-crossing points with

Panamá 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 Cost ...

, the Sixaola-Guabito crossing.

Districts

The canton of Talamanca is subdivided into the following

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

: # Bratsi #

Sixaola Sixaola is a district of the Talamanca canton, in the Limón province of Costa Rica. It is a border town together with Guabito, Panamá Sixaola is right across the Sixaola River from Guabito, Panama. History Sixaola was created on 19 Februar ...

# Cahuita # Telire

Demographics

For the 2011 census, Talamanca had a population of inhabitants. The county suffers from pervasive poverty. As of 2009, its human-development index is the lowest-ranked of all Costa Rican cantons. While its most recent infant mortality rate is 12.89% (2009), it was as high as 22.5% (2003), and stayed above 15% between 2003 and 2007. As of 2010, 52.3% of Talamanca inhabitants have access to sanitation (either piped or septic tank), and 75.2% are connected to electricity. The county is composed of four districts (see graphic below), with its capital city, Bribrí, located in the Bratsi district. Talamanca houses the largest indigenous population in the country (at 11,062, or 34% of the county's population), which is composed principally of the

and Cabécar groupsInsituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC). (2008). ''Población estimada cerrada según provincia, cantón, y distrito al 31 de diciembre de cada año, 2002-2008.'' Retrieved from http://www.inec.go.cr (who in turn represent two of Costa Rica's eight distinct indigenous groups).Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Eduación, la Cienca, y la Cultura (UNESCO). (2011). ''Grupos indígenas''. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.or.cr/portalcultural/indigenas.htm 31% of the district covers Talamanca's four indigenous reserves ( Kekoldi, Talamanca Bribrí, Talamanca Cabécar, and Telire);

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

Conservation

Eighty-eight percent of Talamanca's territory is protected. Fifty-five percent of this land falls under the Chirripó, Amistad, and Cahuita National Parks; and 2% belongs to the

Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge ( es, Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Mixto Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Caribbean La Amistad Conservation Area, i ...

(a major

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...

nesting ground). In defense of these areas, for example, on July 27, 2011, the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones (Minaet) carried out the demolition of two hotels (Las Palmas and Suerre), due to their occupation of 4 hectares of land within the Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge.

References

{{Authority control Cantons of Limón Province Populated places in Limón Province