Coclé (Spanish pronunciation:[koˈkle]) is a province of central Panama on the nation's southern coast. The administrative capital is the city of Penonomé. This province was created by the Act of September 12, 1855 with the title of Department of Coclé during the presidency of Dr. Justo de Arosemena. It became a province, Decretory Number 190, on October 20, 1985. Coclé is primarily an agricultural area, with sugar and tomatoes as major crops. The province has a number of well-known beaches, such as Santa Clara, Farallon and Rio Hato, and tourist activity has increased in recent years. It covers an area of 4,946.6 km2, and had a population of 268,264 in 2023.[4]
During pre-Columbian times, the area of Panama which today includes Coclé province had a number of identifiable native cultures. Archaeologists have loosely designated these cultures by pottery style. The poorly studied La Mula period ranged from 150 BC to AD 300. It was followed by the Tonosi period, from AD 300 to AD 550, and by the Cubita period, from AD 550 to AD 700. A unified Indigenous culture appears to have flourished in this area from approximately 1200 BC until the 16th century.
Coclé is also home to APROVACA orchid conservation center, which conducts orchid conservation activities, including orchid reintroduction into the wild and a sponsorship program for the Panamanian national flower Peristeria elata.
Lothrop, Samuel Kirland. Pre-Columbian Designs from Panama -Illustrations of Coclé Pottery. Dover Publications, Toronto, Canada, 1976. ISBN0-486-23232-8.
Specific
^Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.
^As at 1 July 2010; adjusted for under-enumeration in 2010 Census. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.
^Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.
^Tomado de: Liao González, Rosita. Las flores de la pollera: pequeño manual para confeccionar y ubicar los tembleques a la usanza coclesana / Rosita Liao González.--Panamá: Editora Sibauste,2003.--23p.