Panama and the Pacific Coast

Map of Panama and the Pacific Coast

Geography of Panama and the Pacific Coast

As well as marking the middle of the planet, the Equator forms a natural division in this region of South America. To the south lies Peru, where the Andes block easterly Atlantic winds, creating a desert which covers most of the Peruvian coast, while to the north, intense humidity and rainfall blanket Ecuador in moisture. The Andes are lower here than further south – instead of bare rock, snow and ice, much of the Andes in Ecuador and Colombia are thickly mantled in forests, and with a more pleasant climate than the steamy lowlands, the mountains host the region’s largest cities, including Quito, Medellín and Bogotá.

The Isthmus of Panama is separated from Colombia by the Darién Gap – a region of thick, impassable jungle famed for its toxic animals and harsh climate. This hostile geography can even be argued to have helped create Great Britain: in the 1690s, the Kingdom of Scotland sent an expedition with around 20% of Scotland’s total wealth to establish a colony in Panama, but repeated Spanish raids, horrific rates of disease and worthless trade goods such as woolen blankets made the venture a complete failure. A few years later, deep in financial crisis, Scotland signed the Act of Union with England.

Where Two Continents Meet – the History of Panama and the Pacific Coast

Northern South America has been inhabited by waves of human settlers for more than ten thousand years – indeed, the ancestors of all Indigenous peoples of South America must have passed the geographic choke-point where the two American continents meet. Cultures such as the Muisca of modern-day Colombia and the Moche and Chimu of modern-day Peru flourished here, before the region became part of Tawantinsuyu – the Inca Empire – in the 15th century.

Following a bloody civil war, Atahualpa, the final Sapa Inca, was captured and executed by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Spanish rule proved brutally extractive, while Old World diseases such as smallpox, influenza and typhus ravaged Indigenous populations. In the wake of the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, legendary revolutionary Simón Bolívar crossed the Andes in 1819, and the resulting nation, Gran Colombia, became a mega-state comprising most of the northern quarter of South America – but within 12 years, internal conflicts led to its collapse.

With American support, Panama declared independence from Colombia in November 1903, and the Panama Canal opened in 1914 at horrific human cost – thousands perished of disease and accidents – but it revolutionized global trade. Full control of the canal was ceded to Panama in 1999, while Colombia signed a peace treaty with FARC in 2016, ending its decades-long conflict. Today, the region continues to draw international visitors who come to experience its incredible natural beauty and vibrant culture.