Panamá
Sarah Yuran
Background Information
Panamá's capital city is Panamá City. Other large cities in Panamá are San Miguelto, Tocumen, Arraján, and Colón.
History (click here for source)
Panamá, along with Venezuela, Columbia, and Equador, were controlled by Spain. They fought in a war until 1822 when they declared independence. It was a part of Gran Columbia for a while until it became Panamá in 1830 when Gran Columbia broke up.
The official language of Panamá is Spanish. The flag is divided into four sections. Two sections have a star; one is red and one is blue. The other are solid red and solid blue.
Geography
Panamá is East of Coasta Rica, Northwest of Venezuela, and North of Colombia. There are roughly 500 rivers in Panamá, one of which is the Panamá canal. One third of the rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean. Panamá has only one lake, Gutan Lake. It is a man made lake and it's existence is due to the Panamá Canal. Panamá also is full of rainforests. Panamá City is the only capital in the world that has a rainforest in city borders.
Political Information
Panamá's government is a constitutional representative democracy. The current leader is Juan Carlos Varela.
Economic Information (click here for source)
Panamá's currency is called Panamanian Balboa. Panamá is a capitalist country.
Tourism
Some cool locations to visit in Panamá are the Panamá canal, Bocas deal Toro, Volcan Baru, and Gatun Lake. The canal is beautiful and has a new viewing deck and Bocas del Toro has many beautiful beaches. Volcan Baru is a dormant volcano and offers whitewater rafting. Gutan Lake offers a variety of wildlife, like the three-toed sloth and capuchin monkeys.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/14/travel/reasons-visit-panama/
Fun Facts
Panama is the only place where you can see the sun rise on the Pacific and set on the Atlantic. Panama has the lowest population in Latin America. Panamá is considered the best place to retire, since most retired people are real estate agents.