Editing Geography of Panama (section)

==General facts==
{{cleanup rewrite|section|date=December 2020}}
[[File:Panama econ 1981.jpg|thumb|upright=2.0|Economic activity in Panama, 1981]]

'''Geographic coordinates:''' {{coord|9|00|N|80|00|W|type:country}}

'''Map references:'''
Northern South America, the [[Caribbean]] and sometimes Central America

'''Area:'''
<br />''total:''
75,420&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>
<br />''land:''
74,340&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>
<br />''water:''
1,080&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>

'''Land boundaries:'''
<br />''total:''
555&nbsp;km
<br />''border countries:''
Colombia 225&nbsp;km, Costa Rica 330&nbsp;km

'''Coastline:'''
2,490&nbsp;km

'''Maritime claims:'''
<br />''territorial sea:''
{{convert|12|nmi|km|abbr=off}}
<br />''contiguous zone:''
{{convert|24|nmi|km|abbr=off}}
<br />''exclusive economic zone:''
{{convert|335,646|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} and {{convert|200|nmi|km|abbr=off}} 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

'''Extreme points:'''

Northernmost point: Point Manzanillo

Southernmost point: [[Punta Mariato]], [[Cerro Hoya National Park]], [[Veraguas]]

Westernmost point: Border with [[Costa Rica]], [[Chiriquí Province]]

Easternmost point: Border with [[Colombia]], [[Darién Province]]<br />Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0&nbsp;m<br />Highest point: [[Volcan de Chiriqui]] 3,475&nbsp;m

'''Natural resources:'''
[[copper]], [[mahogany forests]], [[shrimp]], [[hydropower]]

'''Land use:'''
<br />''arable land:''
7.16%
<br />''permanent crops:''
2.51%
<br />''other:''
90.33% (2011)

'''Irrigated land:'''
346.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (2003)

'''Total renewable water resources:'''
148&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup> (2011)

'''Natural hazards:'''
occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area, earthquakes

'''Environment - current 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

'''Environment - international agreements:'''
<br />''party to:''
[[Biodiversity]], [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|Climate Change]], [[Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol]], [[Desertification]], [[Endangered Species]], [[Environmental Modification]], [[Hazardous Wastes]], [[Law of the Sea]], [[Marine Dumping]], [[Ozone Layer Protection]], [[Ship Pollution]], [[Tropical Timber 83]], [[Tropical Timber 94]], [[Wetlands]], [[Whaling]]
<br />''signed, but not ratified:''
[[Marine Life Conservation]]

'''Geography - note:'''
strategic location at eastern end of Central America; controls Panama Canal that links Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with Pacific Ocean. Central Panama has the unusual distinction of having the sun rise over the Pacific and set over the Atlantic.