Guanacaste Province Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Province of Guanacaste

Provincia de Guanacaste

Landscape of Guanacaste

Flag	Coat of arms

Location of the Province of Guanacaste

Country

Costa Rica

Capital city

Liberia

Area

• Total

10,140.71 km² (3,915.35 sq mi)

Population

(2011)

• Total

326,953

• Density

32.24163/km² (83.50543/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Guanacasteco

ISO 3166 code

CR-G

Guanacaste is a province of Costa Rica. It is in the northwestern part of the country, bordering Nicaragua. The provincial capital is the city of Liberia.

Name
Location
Geography
Demographics
Administrative divisions
Economy
Gallery
See also

Name

The province is named for the guanacaste tree, also known as the ear pod tree, which is the national tree of Costa Rica.

Location

The Guanacaste province borders the provinces of Alajuela to the east,and Puntarenas to the southeast and southwest. The Pacific Ocean is to the south and to the west, and Nicaragua is to the north of the province.

	Nicaragua
Pacific Ocean		Alajuela
	Guanacaste province

Puntarenas	Pacific Ocean (Gulf of Nicoya)	Puntarenas

Geography

Guanacaste is the second largest province of Costa Rica, after the Puntarenas province, with an area of 10,140.71 km² (3,915.35 sq mi).

The province is in the northwest of Costa Rica, along the Pacific Ocean. Most of the territory of the province is flat or with low hills. The Cordillera de Guanacaste ("Guanacaste mountain range") is on the border with the Alajuela; in this range are four important volcanos:

Miravalles, 2,028 m (6,654 ft) high;
Tenorio, 1,916 m (6,286 ft) high;
Rincón de la Vieja, an active volcano, 1,806 m (5,925 ft) high; and
Orosí, an inactive volcano, 1,440 m (4,720 ft) high.

Demographics

Guanacaste tree

The people of the province are known as Guanacastecos (women: Guanacastecas.

The Guanacaste province had a population, in 2011, of 326,953 for a population density of 32.2 inhabitants/km², the province with the lower density. The canton of Liberia, with 62,987 inhabitants, is the canton with more inhabitants.

Administrative divisions

The Guanacaste province is divided in 11 cantons, which are divided into 59 Districts.

Cantons of Guanacaste

No.	Canton	Capital	Districts	Population (2011)	Area (km²)	Density (Inh./km²)
1	Liberia	Liberia	5	&&&&&&&&&&062987.&&&&&062,987	&&&&&&&&&&&01436.4700001,436.47	43.8
2	Nicoya	Nicoya	7	&&&&&&&&&&050825.&&&&&050,825	&&&&&&&&&&&01333.6800001,333.68	38.1
3	Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz	9	&&&&&&&&&&055104.&&&&&055,104	&&&&&&&&&&&01312.2700001,312.27	42.0
4	Bagaces	Bagaces	4	&&&&&&&&&&019536.&&&&&019,536	&&&&&&&&&&&01273.4900001,273.49	15.3
5	Carrillo	Filadelfia de Guanacaste	4	&&&&&&&&&&037122.&&&&&037,122	&&&&&&&&&&&&0577.540000577.54	64.3
6	Cañas	Cañas	5	&&&&&&&&&&026201.&&&&&026,201	&&&&&&&&&&&&0682.200000682.20	38.4
7	Abangares	Las Juntas	4	&&&&&&&&&&018039.&&&&&018,039	&&&&&&&&&&&&0675.760000675.76	26.7
8	Tilarán	Tilarán	7	&&&&&&&&&&019640.&&&&&019,640	&&&&&&&&&&&&0638.390000638.39	30.8
9	Nandayure	Carmona	5	&&&&&&&&&&011121.&&&&&011,121	&&&&&&&&&&&&0565.590000565.59	19.7
10	La Cruz	La Cruz de Guanacaste	4	&&&&&&&&&&019181.&&&&&019,181	&&&&&&&&&&&01383.9000001,383.90	13.9
11	Hojancha	Hojancha	4	&&&&&&&&&&&07197.&&&&&07,197	&&&&&&&&&&&&0261.420000261.42	27.5

Economy

The main economic activity in the province is farming, mainly cattle raising. Important crops in the province are cotton, sugarcane and rice.

Alajuela has attracted many export-orientated manufacturing companies, especially within the free trade zones around the municipality of Alajuela.

Tourism is an important activity because the combination of beaches as Playas del Coco and Playa Tamarindo, and the sunny dry season that coincides with the winter months in northern latitudes. Many tourists also viste the national parks in the province.