Osa (canton)

Canton in Puntarenas province, Costa Rica

Canton in Puntarenas, Costa Rica

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Osa canton

8°53′29″N 83°31′43″W / 8.8913368°N 83.5286361°W / 8.8913368; -83.5286361Country

Costa RicaProvincePuntarenasCreation29 July 1940^[1]Head cityPuerto Cortés Districts

Districts

Puerto Cortés
Palmar
Sierpe
Bahía Ballena
Piedras Blancas
Bahía Drake

Government

• TypeMunicipality • BodyMunicipalidad de OsaArea

• Total1,930.24 km² (745.27 sq mi)Elevation

24 m (79 ft)Population

(2011)

• Total29,433 • Density15/km² (39/sq mi)Time zoneUTC−06:00Canton code605Websitewww.gobiernolocalosa.go.cr

Osa is a canton in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica.^[2]^[3] The head city is in Puerto Cortés district.

History

Osa was created on 29 July 1940 by decree 185.^[1] In pre-Columbian times was populated by Boruca which left legacies such as fields and stone walkways.

Geography

Osa has an area of 1,930.24 km²^[4] and a mean elevation of 24 metres.^[2]

The canton begins at the Barú River near Dominical on the central Pacific coast. It continues as a narrow strip of land southward to include the area around Palmar and Sierpe, finally widening to take in the entire neck and upper portion of the Osa Peninsula, where significant gold mining operations are located. As its name suggests, humpback whales and dolphins migrate into the waters to calve, mate, and to rest. Whale watching is available along the coasts. Isla del Caño is part of Osa canton.

Districts

The canton of Osa is subdivided into the following districts:

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1927	4,367	—
1950	11,518	163.8%
1963	17,574	52.6%
1973	24,613	40.1%
1984	26,294	6.8%
2000	25,861	−1.6%
2011	29,433	13.8%
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos^[5] Centro Centroamericano de Población^[6]

For the 2011 census, Osa had a population of 29,433 inhabitants.^[7]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

National Route 2
National Route 34
National Route 168
National Route 223
National Route 245

Conservation and tourism

In the canton there are conservation areas that are part of the Osa Conservation Area, such as Corcovado National Park, Ballena Marine National Park and Piedras Blancas National Park. The stone spheres of Costa Rica are found in this canton.

References

^ ^a ^b Hernández, Hermógenes (1985). Costa Rica: evolución territorial y principales censos de población 1502 - 1984 (in Spanish) (1 ed.). San José: Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia. pp. 164–173. ISBN 9977-64-243-5. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP". Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
^ División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
^ "Área en kilómetros cuadrados, según provincia, cantón y distrito administrativo". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
^ "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
^ "Sistema de Consulta de a Bases de Datos Estadísticas". Centro Centroamericano de Población (in Spanish).
^ "Censo. 2011. Población total por zona y sexo, según provincia, cantón y distrito". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.