Cotia


Cotia is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 229,548 in an area of 323.99 km². The city is at an altitude of 853 m. Cotia is linked with the Rodovia Raposo Tavares highway.

History

Cotia was founded in 1580, and was an active village during the "bandeiras" expeditions. In 1626, Raposo Tavares and his companions arrived in the city. The "Sítio do Mandú" and "Sítio do Padre Inácio" were some of the first rural houses to be built there. Nowadays, they are preserved by the "Instituto Brasileiro de Patrimônio Cultural. Cotia was declared an independent municipality on April 2, 1856. According to the 1980 demographic census, the city had a population of over 62 thousand people.

Geography

The city is located west of São Paulo, and has a terrain made of valleys and mountains, reaching a maximum altitude of 1,074 meters above sea level
The city has the Cotia River as its main river.
The city has a densely populated urban area, but the less developed areas to the west attract people interested in ecotourism. The only naturally occurring case of Brazilian hemorrhagic fever took place here.

Population history

YearPopulation
2003161,782
2004170,206
2006179,685
2015229,548