Puntarenas
Puntarenas
(po͞ontärā`näs), town (1995 est. pop. 40,706), capital of Puntarenas prov., W Costa Rica, on the Gulf of Nicoya. Formerly the country's principal port on the Pacific, it has been supplanted by the port at Calderas. There is also substantial coastal trade. Other major industries are fishing (especially for shark and tuna) and fish processing. An international airport is located at Puntarenas.Puntarenas
a city in Costa Rica. Population, 32,500 (1972). Puntarenas, Costa Rica’s chief port on the Pacific, is situated on the Gulf of Nicoya. It is linked by highway and railroad with the capital and by railroad with the port of Limón on the Caribbean. It is the center of an agricultural region in which bananas, coffee, rice, and coconut palms are grown and livestock is raised. Its industries include fish canning and the production of nitrogen fertilizers. Bananas, coffee, and hard woods are exported. Puntarenas is a popular tourist site.