made of him by Cicero, R. Hirzel, Untersuchungen zu Ciceros philosophischen Schriften (1877–1883). For his importance in the Stoic succession and his philosophy generally, see Stoics.
PANAMA, a Central American republic, occupying the Isthmus of Panama, and lying approximately between 7° 15′ and 9° 39′ N. and between 77° 15′ and 83° 30′ W. It is bounded N. by the Caribbean Sea, E. by Colombia, of which it was formerly a part, S. by the Gulf (or Bay) of Panama, an arm of the Pacific, and W. by Costa Rica. Its area is estimated at from 31,500 to 33,800 sq. m.; its greatest width is 118 m. and its greatest length 430 m.; its land frontier is only about 350 m., but on the Caribbean it has a coast of 478 m. and on the Pacific a coast of 767 m.
Physical Features.—The Isthmus of Panama, coextensive with the republic, is the whole neck of land between the American continents; in another use the term “Isthmus of Panama” is applied to the narrow crossing between the cities of Colon and Panama, the other narrow crossings, further east, being the Isthmus of San Blas (31 m.) and the Isthmus of Darien (46 m.). The use of the term “Isthmus of Panama” to include the whole country is becoming more common. The Caribbean coast-line is concave, the Pacific deeply convex. The Mesquite Gulf is to the N.W., the Gulf of Darien to the N.E., and on the N. coast are several bays. Almirante Bay, near the Costa Rican boundary, is 2–13 m. wide, with many islands and good anchorage, protected by Columbus Island, about 8 m. long; immediately east of it, and connected with it, is Chiriqui lagoon (area about 320 sq. m.), 32 m. long, 12 m. wide at the widest point, with a maximum depth of 120 ft., protected on the sea side by Chiriqui Archipelago; immediately east of Colon, at the narrowest part of the isthmus, is the Gulf of San Blas, 20 m. long and 10 m. wide, protected by a peninsula and by the Mulatas Archipelago—low, sandy islands stretching about 80 m. along the coast—and having the excellent harbour of Mandinga in the south-west; still farther east is Caledonia Bay with another good harbour. On the north coast there are about 630 islands with a total area of about 150 sq. m. The Pacific coast is deeply indented by the Gulf of Panama, which is 100 m. wide between Cape Garachine and Cape Malo, and has the Bay of Parita (20 m. wide at its mouth) on its west side, north of Cape Malo, and the Gulf of San Miguel (15 m. wide at its mouth) on its east side, north of Cape Garachine. Darien Harbour, formed by the Tuira and Savannah rivers, is a part of the Gulf of San Miguel and is 11 m. long, 2–4 m. wide, and nearly landlocked. In the Gulf of Panama there are 16 large and about 100 smaller islands (the Pearl Islands), with a total area of 450 sq. m., the largest being Rey or San Miguel (15 m. long and 7 m. wide), and San Jose (25 sq. m.); both are well wooded. West of the Gulf of Panama and separated from it by Azuero Peninsula is the Gulf of Montijo, 20 m. long and 14 m. wide at its mouth, across which stretches Cebaco Island, 1312 m. long and 3 m. wide; west of Cebaco is Coiba, the largest island of the republic, 21 m. long and 4–12 m. wide.
The country has no lakes; the apparent exceptions are the artificial lakes, Bohio (or Gatun) and Sosa, of the Canal Zone. There are a few swamps, especially on the northern shore. But the drainage is good; about 150 streams empty into the Caribbean and some 325 into the Pacific. In the eastern part are three complicated drainage systems of rivers very largely tidal. The largest is that of the Tuira (formerly called Rio Darien), whose headwaters are near the Caribbean and which empties into the Pacific in the Gulf of San Miguel. The Chepo (or Bayano) also is a digitate system with a drainage area reaching from the Caribbean to the Pacific; it is navigable for about 120 m. by small boats. The Chagres flows from a source near the Pacific south-west and then north to the Caribbean; is a little more than 100 m. long and is navigable for about half that distance; it varies greatly in depth, sometimes rising 35 ft. in 24 hours (at Gamboa), and drains about 1000 sq. m. West of these three rivers are simpler and comparatively unimportant river systems, rising near the centre of the isthmus. Orographically the country is remarkable. The “exceedingly irregularly rounded, low-pointed mountains and hills covered by dense forests” (Hill) are Antillean, not Andean, and lie at right angles to the axes of the systems of North and South America. The only regular ranges in Panama are in the extreme western part where the Costa Rica divide continues into Panama, and, immediately south of this and parallel to it, the Cordillera of San Blas, or Sierra de Chiriqui, where the highest peaks are Chiriqui (11,265 ft.) and, on the Costa Rican boundary, Pico Blanco (11,740 ft.) and Rovalo (7020 ft.); there are two passes, 3600 and 4000 ft. high respectively. On the eastern boundary of the republic is the Serrania del Darien, an Andean range, partly in Colombia. The rough country between contains the following so-called “Sierras,” which are not really ranges: in Veragua province. Sierra de Veragua, with Santiago (9275 ft.) near the Chiriqui range, and Santa Maria (4600 ft.), immediately north of the city of Santa Fe; in Los Santos province (Azuero Peninsula), bold hills rising 3000 ft., and in Panama province, the much-broken Sierra de Panama, which has a maximum height of 1700 ft. and a minimum, at the Culebra Pass, of 290 ft., the lowest point, except the interoceanic water-parting in Nicaragua, which is 153 ft., in the western continental system. There have been no active volcanoes since the Pliocene Tertiary time, but the country is still subject to dangerous earthquakes. There are a few plains, like that of David, in Chiriqui province, but irregular surface is normal; and this irregularity is the result of very heavy rains with a consequent extremely developed drainage system cutting river valleys down nearly to the sea-level, and of marine erosion, as may be seen by the bold and rugged islands, notably those in the Gulf of Panama. It is improbable that there has been any connexion by water between the two oceans here since Tertiary time.
Climate.—The mean temperature varies little throughout the republic, being about 80° F.: at Colon, where 68° is a low and 95° a high temperature, the mean is 79·1°; at Panama the mean is 80·6°. But this difference is not the usual one: normally the Caribbean coast is a degree or two warmer than the Pacific coast. There is a wet and a dry season; in the former, from the middle of April to the middle of December, there falls (in heavy, short rains) about 85% of the total annual precipitation, and south-east winds prevail. The north-east wind prevails in the dry season, which is dusty and bracing. The rainfall at Colon on the north coast varies from 85 to 155 in., with 125 as the mean; at Gamboa in the interior it varies from 75 to 140 in., with 92 as the mean; and at Panama on the south coast it varies between 47 and 90 (rarely 104 in.), the mean being 67 in.
Natural Resources.—Gold is mined to a small extent; the most productive mines are about Darien and in Cocle province. Copper has been found between the Plain of David and Bocas del Toro. There are valuable deposits of coal near Bocas del Toro and Golfo Dulce. There are important salt mines near Agua Dulce on Parita Bay. Iron is found in several parts of the Isthmus. Mineral springs are common, especially near former volcanoes.
There are valuable vegetable dye-stuffs, medicinal plants (especially sarsaparilla, copaiba and ipecacuanha), cabinet and building timber (mahogany, &c.), india-rubber, tropical fruits (especially bananas), and various palms; fish are economically important the name Panama is said to have meant in an Indian dialect “rich in fish”—and on the Pacific coast, oysters and pearl “oysters” (Meleagrina californica)—the headquarters of the pearl fishery is the city of San Miguel on the largest of the Pearl Islands, and Coiba Island. There is little agriculture, though the soil is rich and fertile; bananas (occupying about one-half the area under cultivation and grown especially in the north-west), coffee (also grown especially on the Costa Rican border in Chiriqui province), cacao (growing wild in Bocas del Toro province), tobacco, and cereals are the largest crops. Stock-raising is favoured by the excellent grazing lands; blooded cattle are imported for breeding.
Soap and chocolate are manufactured in Panama City. Tobacco and salt manufactures are government monopolies. Sugar refineries are projected. In the canal zone there are great shops for the manufacture and repair of machinery.
Commerce and Communications.—The principal ports are Colon, Panama[1] and Bocas del Toro, the last being a banana-shipping port. In 1908 the country’s imports were valued at $7,806,811 (vegetable products, $1,879,297; agricultural products, $1,258,900; textiles, $1,187,802; mineral products, $788,069; and wines and liquors, $675,703; the textiles mainly from Great Britain, all other imports largely from the United States); and the exports were valued at $1,757,135 (including vegetable products, mostly bananas, $1,539,395, animal products, $135,207, and mineral products, $79,620), of which $1,587,217 was the value of goods shipped to the United States, $113,038 of goods to Great Britain, and $34,495 to Germany. Besides bananas the largest exports are hides, rubber, coco-nuts, limes, native curios and quaqua bark. Transportation along the rivers from point to point on either coast is easy. The Panama railway, the only one in the country, is 4712 m. long, and runs between Colon and Panama; it was made possible by the rush of gold-miners across the isthmus in the years immediately after 1849; was financed by the New York house of Howland & Aspinwall—Aspinwall (later Colon) was named in honour of the junior member, William Henry Aspinwall, (1807–1875)—and was completed in February 1855 at an expense of $7,500,000. It was purchased by De Lesseps’s Compagnie Universelle de Canal Interocéanique de Panama for $25,500,000; and, with the other holdings of the French company, 68,869 shares (more than 97% of the total) passed to the
- ↑ Christobal, the port of Colon, and Balboa, the port of Panama, lie within the canal zone and are under the jurisdiction of the United States.
