Puntarenas was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.

[1] Puntarenas has an area of 1,842.33 km²[4] and a mean elevation of 169 metres.

[2] The canton includes areas on both sides of the Gulf of Nicoya.

The southern portion of the Nicoya Peninsula is also in the canton, including the popular tourist areas of Tambor, Montezuma and Malpais.

This Costa Rican location article is a stub.