Panama

I

Introduction

Panama, republic in Central America, located on the narrow strip of land that connects North and South America. Its position between two continents and separating two oceans has played a defining role in Panama’s history and the livelihoods of its people.

Panama is crossed by mountain ranges, covered with large areas of rain forest, and bounded by two long coastlines studded with islands and bays. At several places it spans less than a hundred miles from its Atlantic coastline to its Pacific shores. Most of its people and economic activity are located in the central region surrounding the Panama Canal, the major waterway that has played a decisive role in the country’s history. Panama City, the capital and largest city, is on the Pacific coast in this central zone. The nation’s diverse population is largely of mixed Spanish, black, and Native American descent, but includes indigenous people and immigrants from many parts of the world.

As a land bridge between two continents, Panama developed plant and animal life more diverse than almost anywhere else on Earth. Prehistoric inhabitants of the Americas crossed Panama to reach South America and continued to migrate back and forth, sharing trade goods and culture and using the rich natural resources of the isthmus.

The earliest Europeans to explore Panama recognized its value as a link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For two centuries, Spain used Panama as a major commercial center in its American colonies, shipping trade goods and African slaves to Peru and thousands of tons of silver and gold to Spain. In the 17th century Panama handled a significant share of world trade.

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By the 19th century, new technologies and machinery, such as steam-powered shovels and trains, steel, and reinforced concrete, made it possible to attempt to fulfill a longtime European dream of building a canal across Panama. In the 1880s a French company lost a fortune and thousands of lives trying unsuccessfully to dig a sea-level canal. In 1903 the United States government helped Panama, then a province of Colombia, to become an independent nation. The United States then acquired permission from the new republic to build a canal.

The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, represented a great engineering achievement. But a controversial treaty gave the United States control over the canal and important segments of Panama’s territory and economy. This prevented Panamanians from controlling a facility they considered crucial for their well-being and national development. Much of modern Panama’s history centers on the struggle of its people to benefit from the Panama Canal and the lands through which it passed, the Panama Canal Zone.

While pursuing that goal, Panama developed its own unique culture and system of government and built an economy that did not depend solely on the canal. Issues concerning the canal caused tension with the United States through much of the 20th century. In the 1970s new treaties brought Panama's goal of controlling the canal, and its own destiny, within reach. Under these agreements, Panama took possession of the Panama Canal on December 31, 1999. Other conflicts between Panama's government and the United States, however, led to a U.S. invasion in 1989 to overthrow the dictatorship of Manuel Antonio Noriega.

II

Land and Resources

Located at the juncture of Central and South America, Panama forms a land bridge between the two continents. Panama lies within the tropics, and about one-third its area is covered with rain forest. The rest has been converted to farmland and pastures or lies in the semiarid Azuero Peninsula. Panama’s climate is warm and humid, moderated by the two oceans that bathe its 2,490 km (1,547 mi) of coastline. Along each coast are low-lying areas, but inland are mountains that divide the country into north- and south-facing slopes.

Seen from above, Panama has the shape of a reclining S and occupies 75,517 sq km (29,157 sq mi) of land. In addition, Panama claims 200 nautical miles (370 km/230 mi) of territorial waters along its shores. The country is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east by Colombia, on the south by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by Costa Rica. At its widest point it stretches 650 km (400 mi) from west to east, but at its narrowest, near the roughly north-south route of the Panama Canal, it measures only 48 km (30 mi).

A

Natural Regions

A discontinuous backbone of mountains runs east and west almost the full length of Panama. A gap between the eastern and western mountain ranges provided a natural passage for travelers. This gap, located in the central region of the country, eventually allowed construction of a railroad and canal to join the two coasts. The central region, known as the transit zone, consists of narrow coastal plains and a mountainous middle section. Half of Panama’s people, 90 percent of its industry, its largest cities, and its major transportation routes are located in this area.

In the west, the mountain range is called the Cordillera Central, and the highest section, with an average height of about 1,500 m (about 5,000 ft), is called the Serranía de Tabasará. The highest point in the country, the Barú volcano (3,475 m/11,401 ft), is located in this range. The mountains in the country’s eastern half are divided between the Serranía de San Blas and the Serranía del Darién, with an average elevation of about 900 m (about 3,000 ft). Panama is geologically stable and experiences only moderate earthquake activity. None of its volcanoes are active.

West of Panama’s central zone is the Interior, including the province of Coclé, with its capital at Penomoné, and the province of Veraguas, centered on its capital of Santiago. This region produces and processes agricultural commodities and livestock for the urban population. Many of the country’s oldest Hispanic families come from here. In the far south is the Azuero Peninsula, a dry area of rolling hills covered with grasslands and scrub forest. This region is known for its ranching and crafts industries.

Bocas del Toro in the northwest of Panama is a mountainous, densely forested region, centered on the provincial capital of the same name. It is home to the Ngobe-Buglé (formerly known as Guaymí) and several other native peoples, as well as many West Indians and other immigrants. The Bocas region has historically been tied to the banana industry, but a banana disease that appeared in the 1930s led the banana companies to move most operations elsewhere.

In the southwest, centered on the capital city of David, the province of Chiriquí has mountain slopes covered with rich volcanic soils. The region’s rich agricultural industry produces strawberries, coffee, and other temperate crops. On its Pacific coast, extensive banana plantations produce the country’s single largest export commodity.

Eastern Panama contains the country’s most extensive and dense rain forests and is very lightly populated. The eastern province of Darién is home to the indigenous Chocó people and to a sprinkling of immigrants from the rest of Panama and from Colombia. The principal economic activities in Darién are logging and agriculture. Along the northern shore is the San Blas Archipelago, which is inhabited by the indigenous Kuna people.

Both of Panama’s coasts are indented with many lagoons, bays, and gulfs, including the Gulf of Panama on the Pacific side. Major Pacific islands include Coiba Island, used as a penitentiary, and the Pearl Islands (Archipiélago de las Perlas), in the Gulf of Panama, which are being developed for tourism and fishing. The San Blas Archipelago is formed of coral atolls inappropriate for development.

B

Rivers and Lakes

Panama has several important rivers. The Chagres drains a watershed of 326,000 hectares (806,000 acres) north of Panama City and flows into the Caribbean just west of Colón. The Chagres has been dammed in two places: in Gatún, to create a lake for the Panama Canal, and upriver in Alajuela, for water storage and hydroelectric power. Gatún Lake, one of the largest artificial reservoirs in the world, covers 43,000 hectares (106,000 acres) and allows ships to transit the canal at an elevation of 26 m (85 ft) above sea level.

Panama’s largest river, the Tuira, flows south into the Gulf of San Miguel, draining much of the Darién region. The San Pablo River in the south central portion of the country drains into the Montijo Gulf. The Chepo River, which flows southwest into the Pacific near Panama City, has been dammed to create Lake Bayano, an important hydroelectric power source. None of Panama’s rivers are navigable by deep-draft ships.