Zarzal is a town and municipality located in the north of the department of Valle del Cauca, in 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...

. Its economy is based primarily on the extensive cultivation of sugar cane, on small and medium enterprises in the metallurgic sector and on utilities. Commerce

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

 is also of great importance, because a great number of warehouses for basic necessity goods exist in the city. A marketplace

Marketplace

A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...

 also exists, which serves as reference for various cities that are close by. Zarzal has a population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of about 50,000 inhabitants. New city districts were constructed in the center of the city; it has now become difficult to find bare land inside the city.

Geography

The territory is mostly flat located within the valley of the Cauca River

Cauca River

The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...

, river that flows into La Paila River. The municipality is also home to a the forest of the Caracolíes, Los Chorros, Cumba recreational park, La Paila river, Mount Caré and Mount Pan de Azúcar.

Economy

The municipality of Zarzal is one of the region with most production of sugar cane and sugar refineries. The municipality is home to two major companies; the Rio Paila Sugar Company and the Colombina Candy Facotory.

Besides the cane and sugar production other agricultural products are produced in the municipality; plantain

Plantain

Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...

, yuca

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, 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....

, maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, 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...

, sugar cane, soy, grapes, papaya

Papaya

The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...

, passion fruit, pitaya

Pitaya

A pitaya or pitahaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus . These fruits are commonly known as dragon fruit – cf...

, citrics like oranges

Orange (fruit)

An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....

 and limes

Lime (fruit)

Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...

, mango

Mango

The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

, guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

, avocado

Avocado

The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...

 and chontaduro

Bactris gasipaes

Bactris gasipaes is a species of palm native to the tropical forests of South and Central America.There are numerous common names for this plant in several languages and many countries...

. Some 200 square kilometres are used for cattle raising and 0.1 km² for a small industrial fishing industry which produces tilapia

Tilapia

Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...

, cachama, peacock bass

Peacock Bass

Peacock bass is the common name in English for a group of closely related species of tropical, freshwater fish of the genus Cichla, native to the Amazon River basin of South America. They also inhabit the waters of Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela and parts of the United States,...

 and bocachico

Prochilodus nigricans

Prochilodus nigricans, or Black prochilodus, is a tropical South American freshwater fish. It occurs in the Amazon and the Araguaia/Tocantins River basins....

.

External links

Government of Valle del Cauca: Zarzal