Parrita

9°32′50″N 84°20′47″W / 9.5471005°N 84.3464358°W / 9.5471005; -84.3464358Country Costa RicaProvincePuntarenasCreation5 July 1971^[1]Head cityParritaDistrictsGovernment • TypeMunicipality • BodyMunicipalidad de ParritaArea • Total478.79 km² (184.86 sq mi)Elevation4 m (13 ft)Population • Total16,115 • Density34/km² (87/sq mi)Time zoneUTC−06:00Canton code609Websitemuniparrita.go.cr

Parrita is a canton and its only district in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica.^[2][3]

Toponymy

The origin of the name, it is said, has to do with a woman named Rita who lived in one of the original settlements. Rita had a business and received packages. "Es pa' Rita" (It's for Rita) was often heard so the canton was called Parrita.^{[citation needed]}

History

Parrita was created on 5 July 1971 by decree 4787.^[1]

Almost all of Costa Rican territory was inhabited before the arrival of the Spanish. The Huetars lived in this area. In 1924, a young German installed the first banana plantation near the Pirrís River (also called the Parrita River) which encouraged migration of people from San José and Guanacaste.

Geography

Parrita has an area of 478.79 km^2[4] and a mean elevation of 4 metres.^[2]

The canton lies along the central Pacific coast between the mouths of the Tusubres River and Damas River. Inland the canton is delineated by a series of rivers that meander through the valleys of the coastal mountain range.

Districts

The canton of Parrita is subdivided into only one district, occupying the same area as the whole canton:

1. Parrita, with postal code 60901

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1973	11,901		—
1984	9,774		−17.9%
2000	12,112		23.9%
2011	16,115		33.0%
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos[5] Centro Centroamericano de Población[6]

According to the 2011 census, Parrita had a population of 16,115 inhabitants.^[7]

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

References