by Brooke Lorren

Created on: September 10, 2009   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

The Republic of Panama is located on a small strip of land that divides Central America from South America. It is most famous for its canal, which allows ships to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Oddly enough, the Pacific entrance to the canal is located to the east of the Atlantic entrance. It is the only place in the world where you can see the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean, and set in the Atlantic. Panama is bordered by Colombia to the south, and Costa Rica to the north.

Although Panama has been inhabited for thousands of years, it was never settled by any of the major pre-Columbian empires like the Maya, Inca, or Aztec civilizations. The first European to visit Panama was Rodrigo de Bastidas, but Balboa is more famous in Panamanian history, as he was the first European explorer to cross the isthmus and sight the Pacific Ocean. His trek across the land in 1513 was guided by hundreds of indigenous guides and porters. While crossing some of the swamps and lakes, the Europeans had to take off their clothes and carry them on their heads. When Balboa arrived at the Pacific Ocean, he put on all of his armor, walked into the water, lifted the Castilian banner, and claimed the land for his country. He never got any glory for his discovery, as he was beheaded in 1519 for angering some of the powerful people in the government.

Panama eventually became a department of Colombia. During this time, the French tried to build a canal. The workers were dying from malaria so they abandoned the project. After Panama gained its independence, the United States was given the land to build the canal on. By then, the United States knew that malaria was spread by mosquitoes, so they took better hygiene measures as they resumed the canal. Approximately 22,000 workers died while the French worked on the canal, but only 5,609 workers died while the Americans worked on the project. The United States began their work on the canal on May 4th, 1904, and completed it in 1914. The first ship went through the locks on August 14, 1914.

The Chinese have had significant involvement in the country of Panama. In 1854, 1,600 Chinese laborers arrived in the country to work on the construction of the Panama Railroad. Some of their ancestors still live in Panama today, although many of them do not speak Chinese. Today, the port facilities of the Panama Canal are operated by Hutchison Whampoa Limited, which is based in Hong Kong, a territory of the People's Republic of China.

Here are some other interesting Panamanian facts:

* The CBS television show, Survivor, filmed three seasons in Panama.

* Panama has more than 500 rivers, although boats are unable to travel in most of them.

* Panamanians that smoke open packages of cigarettes from the bottom. Communicable diseases like pink-eye are common, and by touching cigarettes from the tobacco end, they are less likely to spread disease if someone borrows a cigarette.

* Vultures are thought of as more valuable than eagles, because they eat road kill.

Sources:

Boorstin, Daniel J. "The Discoverers." Vintage books, 1985.

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-p anama-2134.html

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/most-com mon-interesting-facts-about-panama-473664.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama

http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_10/issue_09/commun ity_01.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_Nunez_de_Balboa

http://www.hutchison-whampoa.com/eng/ports/internati onal/the_americas.htm#Panama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_kong

Personal visits to Panama in the year 1999.

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