Osa (canton)

Osa, locating on Osa Peninsula is the name of the fifth canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 1,930.24 km²,[1] and has a population of 27,592.[2] Its capital city is Ciudad Cortés, formerly known as Puerto Cortés.

Playa Ballenas

The canton begins at the Río Barú 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 with dolphins migrate into the waters to calve, mate, and to rest. Whale Watching is available along the coasts.

The canton of Osa is subdivided into 5 distritos (districts).

  1. Cortés
  2. Palmar
  3. Sierpe
  4. Bahía Ballena
  5. Piedras Blancas

In the canton are parks suited in the Osa Conservation Area such as Corcovado National Park, Ballena Marine National Park and Piedras Blancas.

History

The canton was created by law on July 29, 1940. In pre-Columbian times was populated by Brunca which left legacies such as fields and stone walkways.

References

  1. ↑ Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), 2001.
  2. ↑ Estimates of Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC), May 2003.

Coordinates: 8°53′38″N 83°30′51″W / 8.89389°N 83.51417°W