Cartago Province

Cartago is a province of Costa Rica. It is in the central part of the country. The provincial capital is the city of Cartago.

Location
The Cartago province is a landlocked province (it does not border the ocean) and is bordered on the east and north by the Limón province and on the south and west by the San José province.

Geography
Cartago is the second smallest province of Costa Rica, only the Heredia province is smaller. It has an area of 3124.67 km2.

There are two mountain ranges in the province: the Cordillera Central ("Central mountain range"), also known as Volcanic Central mountain range, and the Talamanca mountain range.

There are several volcanoes in the province; among them are the Irazú, 3432 m high, and the Turrialba, 3340 m high.

Some rivers in the province are Reventado, Reventazón, Palomo, Grande de Orosi, Macho, Tiribí, Chirripó, Tuis and Pejibaye.

Demographics
A person from the province is known as cartaginés (woman: cartaginesa).

The Cartago province had a population, in 2011, of 490,903 for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The canton of Cartago, with 147,898 inhabitants, is the canton with more inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Cartago

Administrative divisions
The Cartago province is divided in 8 cantons, which are divided into 47 Districts.

Economy
An important economic activity in the province is farming. Important crops in the province are potato, coffee, sugarcane, Macadamia nut, pejibaye and ornamental plants.

Cartago has attracted many export-orientated manufacturing companies, especially within the industrial zone, the largest in the country.

There are eight dams in the province to produce hydroelectricity.