San Carlos is the name of the 10th canton in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 3,347.98 km²^[1], making it the largest canton in the country. It has a population of 137,499^[2], ranking it fifth. The capital city of the canton is Ciudad Quesada, which is also known as San Carlos.

The canton encompasses a major portion of the Llanura de San Carlos (San Carlos Plain), a wide expanse on the Caribbean side of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range). San Carlos reaches north to the border of Nicaragua, east to the province of Heredia, west to the province of Guanacaste, and south into the heights of the Cordillera.

San Carlos is noted as the home of Arenal Volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The canton's principle economic activities include the production of oranges, yuca, pineapple, sugar cane, beef and dairy products. More than 50% of the total production of milk in Costa Rica comes from San Carlos.

There is a branch of the Costa Rica Institute of Technology in Ciudad Quesada.

The canton of San Carlos is subdivided into 13 distritos (districts).

1. Quesada
2. Florencia
3. Buenavista
4. Aguas Zarcas
5. Venecia
6. Pital
7. La Fortuna
8. La Tigra
9. La Palmera
10. Venado
11. Cutris
12. Monterrey
13. Pocosol

History

The canton was established by a decree of September 26, 1911.

See also

• Arenal Volcano
• Costa Rica Institute of Technology
• Province of Alajuela

References

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

External links

• SIR-ZEE Web portal for business and government in the Northern Zone
• ECOLodgeCR ECOLodgeCR
• La Fortuna de San Carlos History

fr:San Carlos (canton) es:San Carlos (cantón) it:Cantone di San Carlos

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