El Guarco is a canton in the Cartago province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Tejar district.

Toponymy

Named after El Guarco, a cacique in the colonial era.

History

El Guarco was created on 26 July 1939 by decree 195.

Geography

El Guarco has an area of 167.69 km2 and a mean elevation of 1,526 metres. El Guarco is an elongated canton that stretches southeast from its capital city to encompass a swatch of the Cordillera de Talamanca (Talamanca Mountain Range). The Pan-American Highway, locally designated as Route 2, delineates the canton's lengthy southwestern border.

Districts

The canton of El Guarco is subdivided into the following districts:

Demographics

For the 2011 census, El Guarco had a population of 41,793 inhabitants.

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes: • CR RNP 2.svg National Route 2 • CR RNS 222.svg National Route 222 • CR RNS 226.svg National Route 226 • CR RNS 228.svg National Route 228 • CR RNS 236.svg National Route 236 • CR RNT 315.svg National Route 315 • CR RNT 406.svg National Route 406