La Sierra de Abangares
Encyclopedia
Sierra, is a district in Abangares
. It is well known as the historical mining town of Costa Rica
, located on the NW Pacific Region. It goes from an altitude of 210 meters to 1200 meters.
It is a mountainous zone with a variety of temperatures (from 34 °C to 5 °C) and climates (from dry forest to rain forest).
To the north it borders Tilarán Canton
, to the south San Juan de Abangares and Las Juntas District(SW), to the east Monteverde and to the west it borders Cañas Canton
.
The Spanish word "sierra" means "saw". Residents developed sawmills by the time they knew about the valuable and precious woods they got.
Although, by the year 1900 the gold mining industry rose in Abangares but mostly in Sierra, were the Abangares Gold Fields of Costa Rica (Abangares Mining Company
) own by Minor C. Keith
, built up the Stamp mill
House, the Company Headquarters and the Powder House. The ore activity carried vast development. By that time, people compared La Sierra development with California
(as well because the Gold rush
).
is located on 38 hectares of local government property and managed by the district Committee of Culture and Management of Museums. It documents and celebrates one of the first mining centers in Central America
, and the legends and realities that the miners of the time lived in.
The recent built showroom displays graphic and documentary information. Various paths explain the mining infrastructure, which preserves the spirit of the mining years (1901–1931).
The “Ecomuseum” idea arose in France
in the 1970s. In Costa Rica
it was adopted in the 1980s, when Ecomuseum Mines of Abangares was created. It’s an educational model of culture and sustainable development that integrates inhabitants with rational resource use, and ecological protection and cultural protection.
The Eco-museum was developed around the ruins of one of the oldest gold mines in the region, where old machinery, hand tools, and infrastructure can still be seen. The surrounding area is largely forested and provides opportunities for bird and butterfly watching, and other nature observation.
It is a community organization that conserves and transmits local history, and strengthens the identity of the towns. In 2001, it was declared a Historical Architectonic Patrimony.
The Ecomuseum is in an area that holds evidence of the biggest scale of gold mining in Costa Rica
, where the Company “Abangares Gold Fields of Costa Rica” operated. It contains an outdoor exhibition of mining machinery, paths that lead to the ruins of an old stamp mill house, “Edificio de los Mazos,” “Casa de la Pólvora,” and great natural scenery. There is a Tunnel on a historical traverse, where Tulita, a steam locomotive, pulled ore wagons.
and variety of Vegetable
), Gold mining
and Tourism
.
Agriculture and mining are the most traditional activities and ways of living in the district. All over the highlands (San Rafael, Cebadilla, Campos de Oro, Cañitas, La Cruz and Tornos) small producers of coffee and vegetables are organized in cooperatives.
The Ecomuseum, the biodiversity, and the hot springs are attracting tourism from all over the world to the district. La Sierra is between Guanacaste and San José, and between Guanacaste and Monteverde. Little by little tourists start stopping on their ways and staying in La Sierra as middle point on their trip and using a non traditional touristic route, to overnight, to make canopy, to visit eco farms, to make historical walks on the Ecomuseum or just to chill on the hot springs.
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10.283333°N 84.916667°W
Abangares
Abangares is the seventh canton in the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 675.76 km² , and has a population of 17,289. Its capital city is Las Juntas....
. It is well known as the historical mining town of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, located on the NW Pacific Region. It goes from an altitude of 210 meters to 1200 meters.
It is a mountainous zone with a variety of temperatures (from 34 °C to 5 °C) and climates (from dry forest to rain forest).
To the north it borders Tilarán Canton
Tilarán Canton
Tilarán is the eighth canton in the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 638.39 km², and has a population of 19,045. Its capital city is also called Tilarán....
, to the south San Juan de Abangares and Las Juntas District(SW), to the east Monteverde and to the west it borders Cañas Canton
Cañas Canton
Cañas is the sixth canton in the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 682.20 km², and has a population of 25,897. Its capital city is also called Cañas.The elongated canton touches the Río Tempisque in the southwest...
.
History and Mining
Oral history tells that the name of "Sierra" its related to one of the first resources the town took advantage, the wood.The Spanish word "sierra" means "saw". Residents developed sawmills by the time they knew about the valuable and precious woods they got.
Although, by the year 1900 the gold mining industry rose in Abangares but mostly in Sierra, were the Abangares Gold Fields of Costa Rica (Abangares Mining Company
Abangares Mining Company
The Abangares Mining Company was a gold mining company in the Tilarán mountains, located in the Abangares district of the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica. Founded by U.S. railroad, fruit, and shipping magnate Minor C. Keith, it established one of the earliest major commercial gold mining...
) own by Minor C. Keith
Minor C. Keith
Minor Cooper Keith was a U.S. railroad, fruit, and shipping magnate whose business activities had a profound impact in Central America and in Colombia.- Early life :...
, built up the Stamp mill
Stamp mill
A stamp mill is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operation....
House, the Company Headquarters and the Powder House. The ore activity carried vast development. By that time, people compared La Sierra development with California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(as well because the Gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
).
Mining Ecomuseum
The Mining EcomuseumEcomuseum
Ecomuseums originated in France, the concept being developed by George Henri Rivière and Hugues de Varine, who coined the term ‘ecomusée’ in 1971...
is located on 38 hectares of local government property and managed by the district Committee of Culture and Management of Museums. It documents and celebrates one of the first mining centers in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and the legends and realities that the miners of the time lived in.
The recent built showroom displays graphic and documentary information. Various paths explain the mining infrastructure, which preserves the spirit of the mining years (1901–1931).
The “Ecomuseum” idea arose in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the 1970s. In Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
it was adopted in the 1980s, when Ecomuseum Mines of Abangares was created. It’s an educational model of culture and sustainable development that integrates inhabitants with rational resource use, and ecological protection and cultural protection.
The Eco-museum was developed around the ruins of one of the oldest gold mines in the region, where old machinery, hand tools, and infrastructure can still be seen. The surrounding area is largely forested and provides opportunities for bird and butterfly watching, and other nature observation.
It is a community organization that conserves and transmits local history, and strengthens the identity of the towns. In 2001, it was declared a Historical Architectonic Patrimony.
The Ecomuseum is in an area that holds evidence of the biggest scale of gold mining in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, where the Company “Abangares Gold Fields of Costa Rica” operated. It contains an outdoor exhibition of mining machinery, paths that lead to the ruins of an old stamp mill house, “Edificio de los Mazos,” “Casa de la Pólvora,” and great natural scenery. There is a Tunnel on a historical traverse, where Tulita, a steam locomotive, pulled ore wagons.
Economy
The major activities are agriculture (CoffeeCoffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
and variety of Vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
), Gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
and Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Agriculture and mining are the most traditional activities and ways of living in the district. All over the highlands (San Rafael, Cebadilla, Campos de Oro, Cañitas, La Cruz and Tornos) small producers of coffee and vegetables are organized in cooperatives.
The Ecomuseum, the biodiversity, and the hot springs are attracting tourism from all over the world to the district. La Sierra is between Guanacaste and San José, and between Guanacaste and Monteverde. Little by little tourists start stopping on their ways and staying in La Sierra as middle point on their trip and using a non traditional touristic route, to overnight, to make canopy, to visit eco farms, to make historical walks on the Ecomuseum or just to chill on the hot springs.
Villages
Sierra is composed of fifteen villages:- Aguas Claras
- Alto Cebadilla
- Campos de Oro
- Candelaria
- Cañitas
- Cruz
- Cuesta Yugo
- Dos de Abangares
- La Sierra
- Marsellesa
- San Antonio
- San Rafael
- Tornos
- Tres Amigos
- Turín (part)
External links
Government and administration- CCSS District Population, Health Region Abangares.
Related Articles
- Pueblo Antiguo Lodge Abangares Ecomuseum History.
10.283333°N 84.916667°W