Cereté is a town and municipality

Municipalities of Colombia

The Municipalities of Colombia are decentralized subdivisions of the Republic of Colombia. Municipalities make up most of the departments of Colombia with 1,119 municipalities...

 located in the Córdoba Department

Córdoba Department

Córdoba is a Department of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. Córdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bolívar Department and south with the Antioquia Department...

, northern Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

.

Name origin

Cereté comes from the two word indigenous words meaning Chere (fish) and te (shelter).

History

Cereté is one of the oldest administrative divisions in the Sinú Region, founded in 1721 by Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

 Francisco Velásquez and Cristóbal Jiménez de León. In 1731 the curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 of Cereté-Mocarí was given to jesuits who were in the process of evangelizing local indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples in Colombia

The indigenous peoples in Colombia comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country's present territory prior to its discovery by Europeans around 1500.-Origins:...

. The settlement of Cereté was not officially established until 1740 when Juan de Torrezal Díaz Pimienta reorganized the settlement into a village.

Geography and climate

The municipality of Cereté borders to the north with the municipality of San Pelayo

San Pelayo

San Pelayo is a town and municipality located in the Córdoba Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

, the municipalities of Ciénaga de Oro

Ciénaga de Oro

Ciénaga de Oro is a town and municipality located in the Córdoba Department, northern Colombia....

 and San Carlos

San Carlos, Córdoba

San Carlos is a town and municipality located in the Córdoba Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

 to the east, the municipalities of San Carlos and Montería

Montería

Montería is a municipality and city located in Northern Colombia and is the capital of the Department of Córdoba. The city is located away from the Caribbean, by the Sinú River. The city and region are famous for their distinct cultural heritages, which include a blend of indigenous Zenú Indians,...

 to the south and to the west again with the municipalities of San Pelayo and Montería covering a total area of 351.8 km². Cereté has a yearly average temperature of 28 °C and is some 12 m over sea level. The town of Cereté is located some 18 km from the Cordoba Department capital Montería

Montería

Montería is a municipality and city located in Northern Colombia and is the capital of the Department of Córdoba. The city is located away from the Caribbean, by the Sinú River. The city and region are famous for their distinct cultural heritages, which include a blend of indigenous Zenú Indians,...

.

The town of Cereté is crossed by the Caño Bugre (Bugre Stream) an affluent of the Sinú River

Sinú River

Sinú River , is a river in northwestern Colombia that flows mostly through the Córdoba Department and into the Caribbean. The river is the third most important river after the Magdalena River and the Cauca River in the Caribbean Region. It is born in the Antioquia Department, flowing south to north...

. The Bugre stream was once navigable and connected the town with other river towns like Puerto Wilches

Puerto Wilches

Puerto Wilches is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia....

 and San Pelayo

San Pelayo

San Pelayo is a town and municipality located in the Córdoba Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

.

Economy

The economy of Cereté is based primarily in cattle raising with some 270 km² used and agriculture with extensive cultivations of cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 (colloquially known as the "white gold") and sorghum

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

covering an area of 80 km².