Located in the great plain Guanacaste, Liberia city of Canton is head first in the province of Guanacaste, created on 7 December 1848, is approximately 203 km from the city of San Jose. Bagaces bounded to the east, the west by the Pacific Ocean, north and northwest by La Cruz, with Upala northeast and south and southwest with Carrillo
Its area is 1567.67 Kms2, divided into five districts: Liberia, Cañas Dulces, Mayorga, Curubande Nacascolo and has an average height of 144 m above sea level, warm climate prevails, where the average temperature ranges from 26 and 28 degrees Celsius. It has two marked seasons, where in the rainy season are common in summer floods and severe droughts, phenomena that leave countless losses in agriculture and livestock.

It is known as "White City" for being set on a white ground of volcanic origin.

In the early seventeenth century, inhabitants of Nicaragua's Rivas and Granada, had recognized the potential that the land located between the Gulf of Nicoya and two Nicaraguan cities for livestock development, thus formed farms devoted to this activity in the Tempisque River valley.

Oral tradition tells us that at the site of the intersection of roads that connected with Bagaces Rivas and Nicoya, some small farms were located, known as "El Guanacaste, where the mid-eighteenth century began to form an incipient villa short distance from the river Liberia. It began as a resting place, where after long days' journey of crossing between the peoples of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, some travelers took advantage of the shade of the trees to rest and stay overnight, and the proximity of streams to hydrate themselves and their animals, This site was chosen for being a dry place where they could rest in safety and where soon began to emerge soon a fledgling trade would lead to that town.

That is why we can say that the geographical location and site conditions, as well as tired of the way they did the planters with their games of cattle, was thus favoring the emergence of the village in 1751.

What emerges as a resting place, soon grew and now for 1769 the first chapel was built in 1790 and erected the parish church dedicated to San Jose. In the early nineteenth century the so-called "Annex of Guanacaste" (the old name of the place), had 912 inhabitants and of these 45 were Spanish, 47 Indians, 30 Cubans and 790 Ladino, Zambos and browns, in 1836 the number of inhabitants had already reached to 1866 and only 28 years later there were already 4007 people.

In 1831 he was awarded the title of town to the people of Guanacaste (Liberia today), four years later, this town was part of the Department of the same name, one of three in which divided the territory of the State at that time and in 1836 he gave the town city status.

In 1856, Liberia was the scene of the war against the pirates, after this, in tribute to Don Juan Rafael Mora, president who led the Costa Rican troops in their fight against William Waik, he changed the name to Moracia, but few years later, he fell into disgrace, he again changed the name to Liberia.

In 1864 he founded a school of first letters to girls. In 1904 he built the school building which now bears the name of Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra.

In 1945 he began his teaching activities the Institute of Guanacaste, in 1949 he created the Rural Normal School of Guanacaste, in 1972 opened the Regional Center of the University of Guanacaste Costa Rica.

Being in place almost equidistant between the Peninsula area and the rest of the province, was declared the capital first, then department of the province.