Norte de Santander (Spanish for Northern Santander) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnoɾte ðe santanˈdeɾ]) is a department of northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities.
Norte de Santander is bordered by Venezuela to the east and north, by Santander Department and Boyacá Department to the south, and by Santander Department and Cesar Department to the west.
Cúcuta (Spanish: [ˈkukuta] ), officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, at the foot of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, on the border with Venezuela.
Cúcuta comprises an area of approximately 1119 km, with an urban area of 64 km (divided into 10 communes) and a rural area of 1055 km (divided into 10 townships). The city has a population of 777,106 inhabitants, which makes it the most populous municipality in the department and the sixth most populous municipality in the country. Similarly, its metropolitan area (made up of the municipalities of Villa del Rosario, Los Patios, El Zulia, San Cayetano and Puerto Santander) has an approximate population of 1,046,347.
The Cúcuta metropolitan area is a Colombian metropolitan area located in the eastern section of the Norte de Santander department bordering with Venezuela. Its main city is Cúcuta. It is composed by the municipalities of Cúcuta, Los Patios, Villa del Rosario, San Cayetano, El Zulia and Puerto Santander.
It was created by the Decree # 000508 of 1991.
Los Patios is a municipality and town in the Department of Norte de Santander, northeastern Colombia. As of 2012, it has a population of 77,588