Talamanca (canton)

Talamanca is a canton in the Limón province of Costa Rica. The head city is Bribri, located in Bratsi district.

History

Talamanca was created on 20 May 1969 by decree 4339.

Geography

Talamanca has an area of km² and a mean elevation of metres.
The county is noted for its beautiful beaches, especially in Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, which are popular tourist locations.
Talamanca contains one of Costa Rica's three official border-crossing points with Panama, the Sixaola-Guabito crossing.

Districts

The canton of Talamanca is subdivided into the following districts:

Demographics

For the 2011 census, Talamanca had a population of inhabitants.
The county suffers from pervasive poverty. As of 2009, its human-development index is the lowest-ranked of all Costa Rican cantons. While its most recent infant mortality rate is 12.89%, it was as high as 22.5%, and stayed above 15% between 2003 and 2007. As of 2010, 52.3% of Talamanca inhabitants have access to sanitation, and 75.2% are connected to electricity.
The county is composed of four districts, with its capital city, Bribrí, located in the Bratsi district. Talamanca houses the largest indigenous population in the country, which is composed principally of the Bribri and Cabécar groups. 31% of the district covers Talamanca's four indigenous reserves ;

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

Conservation

Eighty-eight percent of Talamanca's territory is protected. Fifty-five percent of this land falls under the Chirripó, Amistad, and Cahuita National Parks; and 2% belongs to the Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge.
In defense of these areas, for example, on July 27, 2011, the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones carried out the demolition of two hotels, due to their occupation of 4 hectares of land within the Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge.