Heredia Province

Heredia is a province of Costa Rica. It is in the north-central part of the country. The provincial capital is the city of Heredia, in the Central Valley near the city of San José, Costa Rica, the national capital.

Location
The Heredia province is a landlocked province (it does not border the ocean) and is bordered on the east by the Limón province, on the south by the San José province, on the west by the Alajuela province and to the north by Nicaragua

Geography
Heredia is the smallest province of Costa Rica. It has an area of 2656.98 km2.

The northern part of the province is formed by plains but the southern part is in the Central Valley and the foothills of the Cordillera Central ("Central mountain range"), also known as Volcanic Central mountain range.

The highest mountain in the province is the Barva volcano, 2906 m high..

The longest river in the province is the Sarapiquí river, 85 km long. Other rivers in the province are: Virilla, Chirripó, Río Sucio, Sardinal, Peje y San Juan.

Demographics
A person from the province is known as herediano (woman: herediana).

The Heredia province had a population, in 2011, of 433,677 for a population density of inhabitants/km2. The canton of Heredia, with 123,616 inhabitants, is the canton with more inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Heredia

Administrative divisions
The Heredia province is divided in 10 cantons, which are divided into 43 Districts.

Economy
An important economic activity in the province is farming. Important crops in the province are coffee, strawberry, pineapple, plantain, among others.