Panama Geography

Panama forms the narrow, S-shaped land bridge connecting Central and South America, so narrow at points that the Panama Canal crosses the entire isthmus in under 80 kilometers.

A mountainous spine runs the length of the country, rising to Volcán Barú, tall enough to see both oceans from its summit on a clear day. The Caribbean side, including Bocas del Toro and Guna Yala, is defined by island archipelagos and coral reefs.

The Darién region, in the country's southeast, is Panama's most remote area, cut off from Colombia by the roadless Darién Gap -- the only break in the Pan-American Highway's otherwise continuous run from Alaska to Argentina.