Puntarenas Province

Puntarenas is a province of Costa Rica. It is in the western part of the country, covering most the Pacific Ocean coast of Costa Rica. The provincial capital is the city of Puntarenas.

Location
The Puntarenas province borders with the Alajuela, San José and Limón provinces to the north, with Panama to the east; with the Pacific Ocean to the south, and with the Pacific Ocean and the Guanacaste to the west.

Geography
Puntarenas is in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and is the largest province of Costa Rica. It is the province with more islands: Chira, Bejuco, Caballo, Venado, Cedros, Cuchillos, Negritos, San Lucas, Herradura, Violín, Isla del Caño and the Coco Island. The province has an area of 11265.69 km2.

The highest mountain in the province is the Cerro Dúrika on the border with the Limón province; it is 3280 m high (9.37556°N, -83.305°W).

Some of the rivers that flow through the province are Ario, Lagarto, Barranca, Grande de Tárcoles, Grande de Térraba, General, Coto Brus, Naranjo, Barú, Parrita, Savegre, Aranjuez and Coto.

Demographics
A person from the province is known as puntarenense (men and women).

The Puntarenas province had a population, in 2011, of 410,929 for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The canton of Puntarenas, with 115,019 inhabitants, is the canton with more inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Puntarenas

Administrative divisions
The Puntarenas province is divided in 11 cantons, which are divided into 60 Districts.

Economy
Important economic activities in the province are farming and fishing.