Editing Panama (section)

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Panama|Geology of Panama}}
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2025}}[[File:Pm-map.png|upright=1.5|thumb|A map of Panama]]
[[File:La palma, Darién.jpg|thumb|La Palma, Darién]]

Panama is located in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. It mostly lies between latitudes [[7th parallel north|7°]] and [[10th parallel north|10°N]], and longitudes [[77th meridian west|77°]] and [[83rd meridian west|83°W]] (a small area lies west of 83°).

Its location on the [[Isthmus of Panama]] is strategic. By 2000, Panama controlled the Panama Canal which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea to the north of the Pacific Ocean. Panama's total area is {{cvt|74,177.3|km2}}.<ref name=area>{{cite web |url=https://www.contraloria.gob.pa/inec/archivos/P6221DATOS%20GENERALES%20%20%20%202013.pdf |title=Datos generales e históricos de la República de Panamá |language=es |publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics and Census of Panama|INEC]] |access-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-date=July 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710174146/https://www.contraloria.gob.pa/inec/archivos/P6221DATOS%20GENERALES%20%20%20%202013.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The dominant feature of Panama's geography is the central spine of mountains and hills that form 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 [[Andes|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.

The mountain range of the divide is called the [[Cordillera de Talamanca]] near the Costa Rican border. Farther east it becomes the Serranía de Tabasará, and the portion of it closer to the lower saddle of the isthmus, where the Panama 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 geographers as the [[Cordillera Central, Costa Rica|Cordillera Central]].

The highest point in the country is the [[Volcán Barú]], which rises to {{convert|3,475|m|abbr=off}}. A nearly impenetrable jungle forms the [[Darién Gap]] between Panama and Colombia where Colombian [[guerrilla]]s and drug dealers operate and sometimes take [[hostage-taking|hostages]]. This, as well as unrest and [[forest protection]] movements, creates the only break in the [[Pan-American Highway]], which otherwise forms a complete road from Alaska to [[Patagonia]].

Panama's wildlife is the most diverse in Central America. It is home to many South American species as well as to North American wildlife.

[[File:chagres.jpg|thumb|The [[Chagres River]]]]

===Waterways===
{{main|Panama Canal}}

Nearly 500 rivers lace Panama's rugged landscape. Mostly unnavigable, many originate as swift highland streams, meander in valleys, and form coastal deltas. However, the [[Río Chagres]] (''Chagres River''), located in central Panama, is one of the few wide rivers and a source of [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] power. The central part of the river is dammed by the [[Gatun Dam]] and forms [[Gatun Lake]], an [[artificial lake]] that constitutes part of the Panama Canal. The lake was created by the construction of the Gatun Dam across the Río Chagres between 1907 and 1913. Once created, Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world, and the dam was the largest earth dam. The river drains northwest into the Caribbean. The Kampia and Madden Lakes (also filled from the Río Chagres) provide hydroelectricity for the area of the former Canal Zone.

The Río Chepo, another 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 on 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 that is navigable by larger vessels.

===Harbors===
The Caribbean coastline is marked by several natural harbors. 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, near the Beaches of Costa Rica, provide an extensive natural roadstead and shield the banana port of [[Almirante, Bocas del Toro|Almirante]]. The more than 350 [[San Blas Islands]] near Colombia, are strung out over more than {{convert|160|km|abbr=off}} along the sheltered Caribbean coastline.

[[File:Colon Panama.jpg|thumb|[[Colón, Panama|Colón Harbor]], 2000]]
The terminal ports located at each end of the Panama Canal, namely the [[Port of Cristóbal]], Colón, and the [[Port of Balboa]], are ranked second and third respectively in Latin America in terms of the number of container units ([[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|TEU]]) handled.<ref>{{cite web |author=CEPAL – Naciones Unidas |url=http://www.eclac.cl/cgi-bin/getprod.asp?xml=/Transporte/noticias/noticias/8/38828/P38828.xml&base=/tpl/top-bottom.xsl |title=Ranking 2009 de Actividad portuaria de contenedores en América Latina y el Caribe |publisher=Eclac.cl |date=March 22, 2010 |access-date=December 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511140155/http://www.eclac.cl/cgi-bin/getprod.asp?xml=%2FTransporte%2Fnoticias%2Fnoticias%2F8%2F38828%2FP38828.xml&base=%2Ftpl%2Ftop-bottom.xsl |archive-date=May 11, 2011 }}</ref> The Port of Balboa covers 182 hectares and contains four berths for containers and two multi-purpose berths. In total, the berths are over {{convert|2,400|m|abbr=off}} long with alongside depth of {{convert|15|m|abbr=off}}. The Port of Balboa has 18 super post-[[Panamax]] and Panamax quay cranes and 44 [[gantry crane]]s. The Port of Balboa also contains {{convert|2,100|m2|lk=out|abbr=off}} of warehouse space.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/PAN_Port_of_Balboa_1602.php |title=Port of Balboa |publisher=World Port Source |access-date=December 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712093447/http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/PAN_Port_of_Balboa_1602.php |archive-date=July 12, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Ports of Cristobal (encompassing the container terminals of Panama Ports Cristobal, Manzanillo International Terminal, and Colon Container Terminal) handled 2,210,720 TEU in 2009, second only to the [[Port of Santos]], Brazil, in Latin America.

Excellent deep water ports capable of accommodating large [[VLCC]] (Very Large Crude Oil Carriers) are located at [[Charco Azul]], [[Chiriquí Province|Chiriquí]] (Pacific), and [[Chiriquí Grande]], [[Bocas del Toro Province|Bocas del Toro]] (Atlantic) near Panama's western border with Costa Rica. The [[Trans-Panama pipeline]], running {{convert|131|km|abbr=off}} across the isthmus, has operated between Charco Azul and Chiriquí Grande since 1979.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.petroterminal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32%3Ahistory&catid=7%3Acorporate-profile&Itemid=98&lang=en |title=Our History |publisher=Petroterminal.com |date=February 9, 1997 |access-date=December 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028134321/http://www.petroterminal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32:history&catid=7:corporate-profile&Itemid=98&lang=en |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Panama}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map PAN present.svg|thumb|Panama map of Köppen climate classification]]
[[File:VistaBoquete.jpg|thumb|A cooler climate is common in the Panamanian highlands.]]
Panama has a tropical climate. Temperatures are uniformly high—as is the relative humidity—and there is little seasonal variation. [[Diurnal temperature variation|Diurnal ranges]] are low; on a typical dry-season day in the capital city, the early morning minimum may be {{convert|24|°C|1}} and the afternoon maximum {{convert|30|°C|1}}. The temperature seldom exceeds {{convert|32|°C|1}} for more than a short time. Temperatures on the Pacific side of the isthmus are somewhat lower than on the Caribbean, and breezes tend to rise after dusk in most parts of the country. Temperatures are markedly cooler in the higher parts of the mountain ranges, and frosts occur in the [[Cordillera de Talamanca]] in western Panama.

Climatic regions are determined less on the basis of temperature than on [[rain]]fall, which varies regionally from less than {{convert|1300|mm|in|1|sp=us}} to more than {{convert|3000|mm|in|1|sp=us}} per year. Almost all of the rain falls during the rainy season, which is usually from April to December, but varies in length from seven to nine months. In general, rainfall is much heavier on the Caribbean than on the Pacific side of the [[continental divide]], due in part to occasional [[tropical cyclone]] activity nearby; Panama lies outside the [[Main Development Region]]. The annual average in Panama City is little more than half of that in Colón.

Panama is one of three countries in the world to be carbon-negative, meaning that it absorbs more [[carbon dioxide]] than it releases into the atmosphere. The others are [[Bhutan]] and [[Suriname]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goering |first=Laurie |date=November 3, 2021 |title=Forget net-zero: meet the small-nation, carbon-negative club |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/forget-net-zero-meet-small-nation-carbon-negative-club-2021-11-03/ |access-date=March 8, 2022 |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215012548/https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/forget-net-zero-meet-small-nation-carbon-negative-club-2021-11-03/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PANAMA IS ONE OF THE THREE "CARBON NEGATIVE" COUNTRIES |url=https://grupoconsultorefe.com/recursos/latam-weekly/221/panama-is-one-of-the-three-carbon-negative-countries |access-date=March 8, 2022 |website=grupoconsultorefe.com |language=es |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308225635/https://grupoconsultorefe.com/recursos/latam-weekly/221/panama-is-one-of-the-three-carbon-negative-countries |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Biodiversity===
Panama's tropical environment supports an abundance of plants. Forests dominate, interrupted in places by grasslands, scrub, and crops. Although nearly 40% of Panama is still wooded, [[deforestation]] is a continuing threat to the rain-drenched woodlands. Tree cover has been reduced by more than 50 percent since the 1940s. Subsistence farming, widely practiced from the northeastern jungles to the southwestern grasslands, consists largely of corn, bean, and tuber plots. [[Mangrove swamp]]s occur along parts of both coasts, with banana plantations occupying deltas near Costa Rica. In many places, a multi-canopied [[rainforest]] abuts the swamp on one side of the country and extends to the lower reaches of slopes on the other. Panama had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 6.37/10, ranking it 78th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|date=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Soberanía National Park]] has the greatest diversity of [[bird]]s for [[birdwatching]], with more than 525 birds inhabiting the area. It also has a variety of [[mammal]]s such as [[Lesser capybara|capybaras]] and [[coyote]]s, [[reptile]]s like the [[green iguana]], and [[amphibian]]s such as the [[cane toad]].

In May 2022, in order to increase the supply of lower-carbon aviation fuel, the government of Panama and energy companies announced its plan to develop a major and advanced biorefinery of aviation fuel in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=Stephanie |date=May 18, 2022 |title=Exclusive: Panama to develop largest advanced biorefinery to make lower-carbon aviation fuel |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/exclusive-panama-develop-largest-advanced-biorefinery-make-lower-carbon-aviation-2022-05-18/ |access-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518132415/https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/exclusive-panama-develop-largest-advanced-biorefinery-make-lower-carbon-aviation-2022-05-18/ |url-status=live }}</ref>