Panama City Panama

Description: Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 1,500,000 in its urban area. The city is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of Panama. The city is the political and administrative center of the country, as well as a hub for banking and commerce.

Population: 1,086,990

Demographics: The inhabitants of Panama City are commonly referred to as capitalinos and include large numbers of Mestizos (70%), Amerindian and West Indian (14%), White (10%), Amerindians (6%), as well as Afro-Panamanians. There is a great deal of cultural diversity within the city, which manifests itself in the wide variety of languages commonly spoken, such as German, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew and English, in addition to Spanish.

History: The city was founded on 15 August 1519, by Pedro Arias de Ávila, also known as Pedrarias Dávila. Within a few years of its founding, the city became a launching point for the exploration and conquest of Peru and a transit point for gold and silver headed back to Spain through the Isthmus. In 1671 Henry Morgan with a band of 1,400 men attacked and looted the city, which was subsequently destroyed by fire. The ruins of the old city still remain and are a popular tourist attraction known as Panamá Viejo (Old Panama). The city was rebuilt in 1673 in a new location approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of the original city. This location is now known as the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) of the city. Panama City is the fourth earliest-founded of the modern-day capital cities in the Americas. After declaring independence from Colombia on November 3, 1903, Philippe Bunau-Varilla (a French engineer) was named Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. Bunau-Varilla negotiated the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, which provided the United States with a 10-mile-wide strip of land for the canal, a one-time $10 million payment to Panama, and an annual annuity of $250,000. The United States also agreed to guarantee the independence of Panama. Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal symbolized U.S. technological prowess and economic power. Although U.S. control of the canal eventually became an irritant to U.S.-Panamanian relations, at the time it was heralded as a major foreign policy achievement. The city of Panama is still a banking center, although with very visible controls in the flow of cash. Shipping is handled through port facilities in the area of Balboa operated by the Hutchison Whampoa Company of Hong Kong and through several ports on the Caribbean side of the isthmus. Balboa, which is located within the greater Panama metropolitan area, was formerly part of the Panama Canal Zone, and the administration of the former Panama Canal Zone was headquartered there.

Elevation: 2 m

Climate: Tropical savanna climate. Average annual temperature in Panama City is 27 C (81 F), the average for July is 29 C (83 F), the average for January is 26 C (79 F).

Attractions: Panama Canal, Casco Viejo, Avenida Balboa, Amador Causeway, Cinta Costera, Gatun Lake, Metropolitan National Park, Ancon Hill

Airports: Tecumen International Airport PTY

Distance To City Centre: 20 km

Commute Length: 30 min

Average Cost: 55 USD

Traffic Hours: 7 am – 9 am, 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm