Isthmus of Panama
Americas' narrow link
The Isthmus of Panama is the narrow strip of land connecting Central and South America, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific Ocean.
At its narrowest point, it spans about 50 miles.
The Panama Canal was built across it, allowing ships to pass between oceans without sailing around South America.
- conquistadorsSpanish colonial soldiers
- Spanish EmpireHistorical Iberian colonial power
- gold rushMass migration seeking ore
- continental divideDrainage boundary between oceans
- mangrovesSalt-water coastal trees
endemic species · watershed · indigenous resistance · tectonic plate · shipping lanes · global logistics · migratory birds · coral reefs · port cities · cargo ships · tropical flora · tropical humidity · coastline · treaties · deforestation · tropical rainforest · marine ecosystems · colonial settlements
Isthmus of Panamastrait
Constricted marine passage
channel · Strait of Gibraltar · Bering Strait · Strait of Magellan · English Channel
Isthmus of PanamaPanama Canal
Interoceanic shipping route
Suez Canal · sea route · Cape Horn · Northwest Passage · shipping lane
Isthmus of Panamaarchipelago
Chain of scattered islands
island chain · Hawaiian Islands · Aleutian Islands · atoll · peninsula
isthmus, isthmuses, isthmian, Panama, Panamanian, Panamanians