ALAJUELA  , the

capital of the province of Alajuela, in Costa Rica, Central America, on the transcontinental railway, 15 M . W. of San Jose . Pop . (1904) 4860 . Alajuela is built at the southern base of the volcano of Poas (8895 ft.) and overlooks the fertile plateau of San Jose . Its central square, adorned with a handsome bronze fountain, contains the municipal buildings, and a large but unattractive cathedral . The town covers a considerable area; the detached white houses of its suburbs are surrounded by trees and flowering shrubs . Alajuela is the centre of the Costa Rican sugar trade, and an important market for coffee . Its products are exported from Puntarenas, on the Pacific Ocean, 32 M . W . The province of Alajuela includes the territory of the Guatusos Indians, along the northern frontier; the towns of Atenas, Grecia, Naranjo and San Ramon (all with less than 5000 inhabitants), and the gold-mines of Aguacate, a little north of Atenas .