Coclé Province


Coclé 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 sq.km, and had a population of 265,149 in 2019.

Pre-Columbian Coclé

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 Native American culture appears to have flourished in this area from approximately 1200 BC until the 16th century.

Administrative divisions

Coclé Province is divided into 6 distritos and subdivided into 44 corregimientos.
DistritoArea
Population
Estimate
2010		Population
Estimate
2019
Aguadulce46947,47051,668
Antón74853,36157,672
La Pintada1,03027,97630,161
Natá60521,50723,374
Olá3866,8427,366
Penonomé1,70987,60094,908

District
Corregimientos
Cabecera
Aguadulce DistrictSan Juan Bautista de Aguadulce, El Cristo, El Roble, Pocrí, Barrios UnidosSan Juan Bautista de Aguadulce
Antón DistrictAntón, Cabuya, El Chirú, El Retiro, El Valle, Juan Díaz, Río Hato, San Juan de Dios, Santa Rita, CaballeroAntón
La Pintada DistrictLa Pintada, El Harino, El Potrero, Llano Grande, Piedras Gordas, Las Lomas, Llano NorteLa Pintada
Natá DistrictNatá de los Caballeros, Capellanía, El Caño, Guzmán, Las Huacas, TozaNatá de los Caballeros
Olá DistrictOlá, El Copé, El Palmar, El Picacho, La PavaOlá
Penonomé DistrictPenonomé, Cañaveral, Coclé, Chiguirí Arriba, El Coco, Pajonal, Río Grande, Río Indio, Toabré, Tulú, El Valle de San Miguel, Vista Hermosa, Los Uveros, El SilencioPenonomé

Research and conservation

Coclé is host to La MICA Biological Station where ongoing field research and conservation education is conducted. Parque Nacional General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera, established around the crash site of former Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos, is located in the northeastern portion of Coclé. Parque Omar, as it is known, enjoys some legal protection as a national park.
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.
Folklorist Rosita Liao Gonzales was awarded the Order of Manuel José Hurtado for her work categorizing the cultures of Coclé Province.