San Mateo Canton

San Mateo is the name of the fourth canton in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 125.90 km² [Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), 2001.] , and has a population of 5,643 [Estimates of Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC), May 2003.] . The capital city of the canton is also called San Mateo.

The northern border of the elongated province is formed by the Río Jesús María, Río Machuca, Río Agua Agría, Río Calera and Quebrada Zapote. The Quebrada Concepción, Río Grande de Tárcoles and the Río Machuca establish the southern border. Cerro La Lana is a landmark that delineates a northeast tip of the canton.

The canton of San Mateo is subdivided into 3 distritos (districts).

# San Mateo
# Desmonte
# Jesús María

History

The canton was established by a decree of August 7, 1868.

References