Río Chota
| Río Chota | ||
 Río Chota near El Juncal |
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| Data | ||
| location | Ecuador | |
| River system | Río Mira | |
| Drain over | Río Mira → Pacific Ocean | |
| Confluence of | Río Mataquí and Río Eseudillos 0 ° 24 ′ 6 ″ N , 77 ° 55 ′ 25 ″ W. |
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| Source height | approx. 1700 m | |
| Association with |
Río Ambi to Río Mira Coordinates: 0 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ N , 78 ° 6 ′ 20 ″ W 0 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ N , 78 ° 6 ′ 20 ″ W. |
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| Mouth height | approx. 1500 m | |
| Height difference | approx. 200 m | |
| Bottom slope | approx. 7.1 ‰ | |
| length | 28 km | |
| Catchment area | approx. 1750 km² | |
| Left tributaries | Quebrada de Ambuqui | |
| Right tributaries | Río El Ángel, Río Apaquí | |
| Communities | El Juncal | |
 Pedestrian bridge over the Río Chota near Pusir |
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The Río Chota is the 28 km long right source river of the Río Mira in northwest Ecuador .
River course
The Río Chota arises 23 km east of the city of Ibarra at the confluence of the Río Mataquí and Río Eseudillos . From there it flows in a west-northwest direction. The river forms the border between the province of Carchi in the northeast and the province of Imbabura in the southwest. The E35 trunk road runs along the course of the river for the lower 20 kilometers . The catchment area covers around 1750 km².
The upper Chota Valley (Spanish: Valle del Chota ) was characterized in colonial times by sugar cane plantations, which were mainly operated with the work of black African slaves. That is why the area still has a high proportion of Afro-Ecuadorian populations , some of whom have retained West African customs. In terms of infrastructure, the region is severely neglected and is one of the economically weakest in the country. The residents still live mainly from sugar cane cultivation. Since the Chota Valley is not an administrative unit, its boundaries are fluid, which is why the information on the number of inhabitants varies between 7,000 and 30,000, depending on which places are added or whether only the part of the Chota Valley that lies on the Río Chota , or the geographically associated part of the valley in which the river is called Río Mira is calculated.
The Chota Valley achieved international fame, as four top performers in the Ecuadorian soccer team at the 2006 World Cup ( de la Cruz , Delgado , Méndez and Espinoza ) come from there.
