Abangares

Abangares is the seventh canton in the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 675.76 km² [Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), 2001.] , and has a population of 17,289 [Estimates of Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC), May 2003.] . Its capital city is Las Juntas.

The canton begins on the coastline of the Gulf of Nicoya north of the mouth of the Río Abangares. It widens between the Río Lajas on the northwest and Río Lagartos on the east as it reaches up into the Cordillera de Tilarán.

The canton of Abangares is subdivided into 4 distritos (districts).

# Las Juntas
# La Sierra
# San Juan
# Colorado

History

The canton was established by law on June 4, 1915.

Gold Mines

The Abangares canton is home to the oldest gold mining tradition in Costa Rica, dating back over a century. Citation
last =Löding
first =Torge
author-link =
last2 =Beiersdorf (translator)
first2 =Dirk M.
author2-link =
title =Not All Glitters: Corporate gold fever breeds resistance in Central America.
newspaper =Voces Nuestras
pages =
year =
date =(retrieved September 8, 2007)
url =http://www.vocesnuestras.org/glitters.html ] The first major mining operation was Abangares Mining Company, founded in the Tilarán mountains by U.S. railroad, fruit, and shipping magnate Minor C. Keith. Citation
last =Costa Rica Nature Adventures
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-
title =Costa Rica History: Post Independence History
newspaper =To Enjoy Nature. com
pages =
year =
date =(retrieved September 8, 2007)
url =http://www.toenjoynature.com/COSTA_RICA/HISTORY/POST.HTML]

One of the canton's major modern producers of gold, with silver as a by-product, has been the Tres Hermanos mine, which for many years was operated by El Valiente Ascari S.A., a subsidiary of Ariel Resources Ltd. of Vancouver, Canadacite conference
first =David B.
last =Doan
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF COSTA RICA
booktitle =U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY—MINERALS INFORMATION
pages =
publisher =U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior
date =1996
location =
url =http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/1996/9508096.pdf
doi =
id =
accessdate =2007-09-08] . That company filed for insolvency in 2001 and abandoned the operation while still owing its workers two months worth of wages. More than 300 families continue to earn a meager living working through an independent local collective that now operates the mine.

A mining museum at La Sierras de Abangares with artifacts from the boom times of Costa Rican gold mining is a major tourist attraction of the canton. [cite book
last =Hutchison
first =Peter
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Costa Rica Handbook: The Travel Guide, Fist edition
publisher =Footprint Handbooks Ltd
date =2001
location =Bath, England
pages =223
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=BYMqW9H2MPYC&pg=PA223&lpg=PA223&dq=abangares+gold+mine+museum&source=web&ots=uIV4JFl9CR&sig=ZqgDNK_Wj0YtlbIdXb1T3SuEF1o#PPA16,M1
doi =
id =
isbn = 1 903471 06 0]

External links

[http://rev.seis.sc.edu/stations/II/JTS?station_dbid=1002 Current seismograph readings from Abangares region]
* [http://www.1-costaricalink.com/costa_rica_provinces/guanacaste_costa_rica/abangares_costa_rica.htm Facts about Abangares]

References