Limón (), commonly known as Puerto Limón (Port Lemon in English), is a district, the capital city and main hub of Limón Province, as well as of the Limón canton in Costa Rica. It is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over , and is home to the Afro-Costa Rican community. Part of the community traces its roots to Italian, Jamaican and Chinese laborers who worked on a late nineteenth-century railroad project that connected San José to Puerto Limón. Until 1948, the Costa Rican government did not recognize Afro-Caribbean people as citizens and restricted their movement outside Limón province. As a result of this travel ban, this Afro-Caribbean population became firmly established in the region, which influenced decisions not to move even after it was legally permitted. Nowadays, there is a significant outflow of Limón natives who move to the country's Central Valley in search of better employment and education. The Afro-Caribbean community speaks Spanish and Limonese Creole, a creole of English.
Puerto Limón contains three port terminals, Moín Container Terminal, Port of Limón and Port of Moín, which permit the shipment of Costa Rican exports as well as the anchoring of cruise ships. In 2016, the government pledged ₡93 million ($166,000) for a new cruise ship terminal for Puerto Limón.
Health care is provided for the city by Hospital Dr. Tony Facio Castro. Two small islands, Uvita Island and Isla de Pájaros, are just offshore.
Toponymy
Limón is the Spanish word for lemon. Puerto is the Spanish word for port (or harbor).
History
Colonization
Christopher Columbus first dropped anchor in Costa Rica in 1502 at Isla Uvita, just off the coast of Puerto Limón. The Atlantic coast, however, was left largely unexplored by Spanish settlers until the 19th century.
As early as 1569, Governor Perafán de Rivera gave extensive plots of land, Indians included, in Matina to aristocrats (hidalgos) that helped to finance and support early conquest. Because these aristocrats found out that only a few Indians were available to exploit, they acquired African slaves to plant these lands with cocoa trees (the only feasible crop in these lands). These lands provided the only source of income to the absentee owners from the capital city of Cartago. Matina gained importance because of the cacao and the presence of African slaves, which made them attractive to pirate incursions.
Notorious pirates, Edward Mansvelt and his vice admiral Henry Morgan, arrived at Portete, a small bay between Limón and Moín, in 1666. They proceeded inland to Cartago, the capital of Costa Rica at the time, but were driven away by the inhabitants at Turrialba on15 April. The pirate army left on16 April and arrived back in Portete on23 April. They left Costa Rica and did not return.
Founding
The town was officially founded in 1854 by Philipp J. J. Valentini under government auspices. In 1867, construction began on an ambitious railroad connecting the highlands to the sea. Limón was chosen as the site of a major port, which would facilitate exports of coffee from the Central Valley.
Recent history
Twenty-three residents of Limón working on the docks lost their lives on3 July 1942, when the cargo ship they were unloading was torpedoed by U-boat and sank fast at the bottom of the port. Most of the crew was ashore and only one perished.
As a district, Limón was last modified on10 August 1992, by Decreto Ejecutivo 21515-G.
Puerto Limón was struck by the 1991 Limon earthquake, which affected the surrounding landscape and coastline.
The city has one main hospital.
Limón has three port areas.
Geography
Limón has an area of and an elevation of
Locations
Barrios:Bellavista, Bohío, Bosque, Buenos Aires, Cangrejos, Cariari, Cerro Mocho, Cielo Amarillo, Cieneguita, Colina, Corales Cruce, Fortín, Garrón, Hospital, Jamaica Town, Japdeva, Laureles, Limoncito, Lirios, Moín, Piuta, Portete, Pueblo Nuevo, San Juan, Santa Eduvigis, Trinidad, Veracruz Poblados:Buenos Aires, Cocal, Dos Bocas, Empalme Moín, Milla Nueve, Santa Rosa, Valle La Aurora, Villas del Mar Uno, Villas del Mar Dos, Villa Hermosa
Climate
Limón features a trade wind tropical rainforest climate (Af) under Köppen's climate classification. Average temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year averaging around . Common to all cities with this climate, Limón has no consistently dry season. Its driest month (September) averages roughly of rainfall while its wettest (December) averages just below of rain. Limón averages nearly of rainfall annually.
Demographics
, Limón had a population of inhabitants.