Guatuso is a
canton in the
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 ...
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 ...
.
Toponymy
It is named for the region's original inhabitants, an indigenous tribe whose survivors are now known as the
Maleku and remain as residents of the area.
History
Guatuso was created on 17 March 1970 by decree 4541.
Geography
Guatuso has an area of km²
and a mean elevation of metres.
It is a diamond-shaped canton, with the Purgatorio River and the Frío River as the northeast border, the Cucaracha River as a portion of the southeast border, the
Cordillera de Guanacaste
The Cordillera de Guanacaste, also called Guanacaste Cordillera, are a volcanic mountain range in northern Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua. The mountain range stretches 110 km from northwest to the southeast and contains mostly com ...
on the southwest border, and the Rito River and the Mónico River on the northwest.
Tenorio Volcano
Tenorio Volcano ( es, Volcán Tenorio) is an inactive andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica. It is the main geographical feature of the eponymous Tenorio Volcano National Park.
Toponymy
The name comes from the Chorotega legen ...
marks the far western point of the canton.
Districts
The canton of Guatuso 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 ...
:
#
San Rafael
#
Buenavista
#
Cote
#
Katira
Demographics
For the
2011 census, Guatuso had a population of inhabitants.
Transportation
Road transportation
The canton is covered by the following road routes:
References
Cantons of Alajuela Province
Populated places in Alajuela Province
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