Cota is a municipality and town of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

in the

Central Savanna Province Central Savanna Province ( es, Sabana Centro) is one of the fifteen provinces of Cundinamarca, in the country of Colombia. It is located in the central area of the department, and has 11 municipalities. The province capital is the city of Zipaqu ...

of the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Cundinamarca. Cota is part of the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

of Colombian capital

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

which centre is away. The urban centre of Cota is located at an altitude of and the municipality borders Chía in the north,

Funza Funza () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, of the department of Cundinamarca. Funza is situated on the Bogotá savanna, the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense with the urban centre at an altit ...

in the south,

Suba Suba may refer to: Groups of people *Suba people (Kenya), a people of Kenya **Suba language *Suba people (Tanzania), a people of Tanzania * Subha (writers), alternatively spelt Suba, Indian writer duo Individual people *Suba (musician), Serbian- ...

, part of Bogotá in the east and

Tenjo Tenjo is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Central Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna. Tenjo is part of the Metropolitan Area of Bogotá and bor ...

in the west.Official website Cota
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History

In the time before the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

, the

Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Range ...

was inhabited by the

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

, organized in the southern

Muisca Confederation The Muisca Confederation was a loose confederation of different Muisca rulers (''zaques'', ''zipas'', '' iraca'', and ''tundama'') in the central Andean highlands of present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of northern South America. The ...

. The

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

Bacatá Bacatá is the name given to the main settlement of the Muisca Confederation on the Bogotá savanna. It mostly refers to an area, rather than an individual village, although the name is also found in texts referring to the modern settlement of Fu ...

(''

zipa When the Spanish arrived in the central Colombian highlands, the region was organized into the Muisca Confederation, which had two rulers; the ''zipa'' was the ruler of the southern part and based in Muyquytá. The ''hoa'' was the ruler of the n ...

'') controlled Cota. The Muisca called the town ''Gota'', which is either a personal name of derived from ''cota''; "curl". Cota still has a surviving Muisca population. Modern Cota was founded on November 29, 1604 by Diego Gómez de Mena.

Economy

Cota has a small economy mainly based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

;

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

and

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

Education

Given its proximity to the Colombian capital, thanks to its quiet surroundings, many schools have settled in Cota with their facilities and venues; such as the following: Oakland Colegio Campestre, Nuevo Gimnasio Cristiano, Colegio Refous, Colegio José Max León, Summerhill School, colegio Gimnasio Campestre Los Sauces, Gimnasio El Portillo, Colegio Nuevo Reino de Granda, Colegio Nuestra Señora del Rosario, jardín Gimnasio Campestre El Shadai, colegio Gimnasio Campestre San Francisco de Sales and since 2009 Cota is home for NASA´s Educational Program called Colombia Spac
School
Public schools I.E.D. Enrique Pardo Parra (Urban). I.E.D. Institute Parcels (Rural).

Born in Cota

Juan Pablo Forero Juan Pablo Forero Carreño (born August 3, 1983) is a professional track and road cyclist from Colombia. He has represented Colombia at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he won a silver medal in team pursuit with tea ...

, professional cyclist. Amanecer en Cota Cundinamarca

References

{{Municipalities cundinamarca department Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department Populated places established in 1604 1604 establishments in the Spanish Empire Muisca Confederation Muysccubun