Turrialba (canton)

This article is about the canton in Cartago, Costa Rica. For the district, see Turrialba (district). For the volcano, see Turrialba Volcano. For the national park, see Turrialba Volcano National Park. For the cheese, see Turrialba cheese. For other uses, see Turrialba.

Turrialba is a canton in the Cartago province of Costa Rica.^[2][3] The head city is in Turrialba district.

Turrialba
Canton
Flag Seal
Turrialba canton
Turrialba Turrialba canton location in Costa Rica
Coordinates: 9.7809951°N 83.5686741°W / 9.7809951; -83.5686741
Country	Costa Rica
Province	Cartago
Creation	19 August 1903[1]
Head city	Turrialba
Districts	Districts Turrialba La Suiza Peralta Santa Cruz Santa Teresita Pavones Tuis Tayutic Santa Rosa Tres Equis La Isabel Chirripó
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de Turrialba
Area
• Total	1,642.67 km2 (634.24 sq mi)
Elevation	768 m (2,520 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	69,616
• Density	42/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	305
Website	www.muniturrialba.go.cr/index.php/en/

History

Turrialba was created on 19 August 1903 by decree 84.^[1]

Geography

Turrialba has an area of 1,642.67 km^2[4] and a mean elevation of 768 metres.^[2]

Turrialba is the eleventh largest canton among the eighty two cantons that comprise Costa Rica. The Turrialba River and Atirro River establish major portions of the canton's western border, and the Chirripó River delineates its long southeastern border. The region is home to the active Turrialba Volcano.

Districts

The canton of Turrialba is subdivided into the following districts:

1. Turrialba
2. La Suiza
3. Peralta
4. Santa Cruz
5. Santa Teresita
6. Pavones
7. Tuis
8. Tayutic
9. Santa Rosa
10. Tres Equis
11. La Isabel
12. Chirripó

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1927	15,814	—
1950	24,466	+1.92%
1963	37,620	+3.37%
1973	43,202	+1.39%
1984	50,567	+1.44%
2000	68,510	+1.92%
2011	69,616	+0.15%
2022	82,065	+1.51%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos[5] Centro Centroamericano de Población[6]

For the 2011 census, Turrialba had a population of 69,616 inhabitants.^[7]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

• National Route 10
• National Route 225
• National Route 230
• National Route 232
• National Route 411
• National Route 413
• National Route 414
• National Route 415
• National Route 417

Economy

Tourism

Guayabo National Monument is a historic archaeological site located 18 km north of Turrialba city, it is located in the Santa Teresita and Santa Cruz districts of the canton. It is one of Costa Rica's only two pre-Columbian sites that is open to the public, together with the Stone Spheres Museum in the south of the country.^[8][9]

The Turrialba Volcano National Park is located in the canton, reopened after it was closed from 2012 to 2020 due to eruptions.

Dairy farms

The eponymous Turrialba cheese is produced in this region.

Bananas

Lower Turrialba is within Costa Rica's banana production zone and was important in the origin of United Fruit.

References

1. 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.
2. "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.
3. 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.
4. "Área en kilómetros cuadrados, según provincia, cantón y distrito administrativo". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
5. "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
6. Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
7. "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.
8. "Guayabo National Archeological Monument". Visit Costa Rica. ICT. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
9. "Guayabo National Monument". SINAC. Retrieved 13 November 2020.