Geography

Panama is a country located in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. It is located on the narrowest and lowest part of the Isthmus of Panama that links North America and South America. This S-shaped part of the isthmus is situated between 7° and 10° north latitude and 77° and 83° west longitude. The country encompasses approximately 77,082 square kilometres, is 772 kilometres in length, and is between 60 and 177 kilometres in width. It is approximately the same size as Scotland.

Harbours

The Caribbean coastline is marked by several good natural harbours. However, Cristóbal, at the Caribbean terminus of the canal, had the only important port facilities in the late 1980s. The numerous islands of the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro provide an extensive natural roadstead and shield the banana port of Almirante. The over 350 San Blas Islands, near Colombia, are strung out for more than 160 kilometres along the sheltered Caribbean coastline.

The major port on the Pacific coastline is Balboa. The principal islands are those of the Archipiélago de las Perlas in the middle of the Gulf of Panama, the penal colony on the Isla de Coiba in the Golfo de Chiriquí, and the decorative island of Taboga, a tourist attraction that can be seen from Panama City. In all, there are some 1,000 islands off the Pacific coast.

The Pacific coastal waters are extraordinarily shallow. Depths of 180 metres are reached only outside the perimeters of both the Gulf of Panama and the Golfo de Chiriquí, and wide mud flats extend up to 70 kilometres seaward from the coastlines. As a consequence, the tidal range is extreme. A variation of about 70 cm between high and low water on the Caribbean coast contrasts sharply with over 700 cm on the Pacific coast, and some 130 km up the Río Tuira the range is still over 500 cm.

Elevation

The dominant feature of the country's landform is the central spine of mountains and hills that forms the continental divide. The divide does not form part of the great mountain chains of North America, and only near the Colombian border are there highlands related to the Andean system of South America. The spine that forms the divide is the highly eroded arch of an uplift from the sea bottom, in which peaks were formed by volcanic intrusions.

Near the Costa Rican border, the mountain range of the divide is called the Cordillera de Talamanca. Farther east it becomes the Serranía de Tabasará, and the portion of it closer to the lower saddle of the isthmus, where the canal is located, is often called the Sierra de Veraguas. As a whole, the range between Costa Rica and the canal is generally referred to by Panamanian geographers as the Cordillera Central.

The highest point in the country is the Volcán Barú (formerly known as the Volcán de Chiriquí), which rises to 3475 metres (11401 ft). The apex of a highland that includes the nation's richest soil, the Volcán Barú is still referred to as a volcano, although it has been inactive for millennia. Panama is also home to Balboa Hill, which offers a view of both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

Waterways

Nearly 500 rivers lace Panama's rugged landscape. Mostly un-navigable, many originate as swift highland streams, meander in valleys, and form coastal deltas. However, the Río Chepo and the Río Chagres are sources of hydroelectric power. The Kampia Lake and Madden Lake (also filled with water from the Río Chagres) provide hydroelectricity for the area of the former Canal Zone.

The Río Chepo, another major source of hydroelectric power, is one of the more than 300 rivers emptying into the Pacific. These Pacific-oriented rivers are longer and slower running than those of the Caribbean side. Their basins are also more extensive. One of the longest is the Río Tuira which flows into the Golfo de San Miguel and is the nation's only river navigable by larger vessels.

Facts and Figures

• Location: Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica
• Geographic Coordinates: 9 00 N, 80 00 W
• Area:
  • Total: 78,200 sq km
  • Land: 75,990 sq km
  • Water: 2,210 sq km
• Land Boundaries: 555 km
• Border Countries:
  • Colombia 225 km
  • Costa Rica 330 km
• Coastline: 2,490 km
• Maritime Claims:
  • Territorial sea: 12 nm
  • Contiguous zone: 24 nm
  • Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or edge of continental margin
• Climate: tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
• Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills
• Elevation Extremes:
  • Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  • Highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m
• Natural Resources:
  • Copper
  • Mahogany forests
  • Shrimp
  • Hydropower
• Land Use:
  • Arable land: 7.26%
  • Permanent crops: 1.95%
  • Other: 90.79%
• Irrigated land: 430 sq km
• Natural Hazards:
  • Occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area
• Environmental Issues:
  • Water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources
  • Deforestation of tropical rain forest
  • Land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal
  • Air pollution in urban areas
  • Mining threatens natural resources