Colón () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, beside the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, lying near the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

entrance to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. It is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city. Originally it was located entirely on Manzanillo Island, surrounded by Limon Bay, Manzanillo Bay, and the Folks River; however, since the disestablishment of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

, the city's limits have been redefined to include Fort Gulick, a former U.S. Army base, as well as the former

towns of Cristobal,

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rock ...

, and

Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station near the Panama Canal, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá i ...

History

The city was founded in 1850 as the Atlantic terminal of the

Panama Railroad The Panama Canal Railway (PCR, ) is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón, Panama, Colón (Atlantic) to Balboa, Panama, Balboa (Pacific, ...

, then underwent construction to meet the demand during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

for a fast route to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. For a number of years early in its history, the sizable

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

émigré community called the town Aspinwall after Panama Railroad promoter William Henry Aspinwall, while the city's

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

community called it Colón in honor of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

. The city was founded on the western end of a treacherously marshy islet known as Manzanillo Island. As part of the construction of the Panama Railroad, the island was connected to the Panamanian mainland by a causeway and part of the island was drained to allow the erection of permanent buildings. Much of the city was destroyed in the Burning of Colón during the Colombian Civil War of 1885 and again during a massive fire in 1915. The Great Colón Fire of April 13–14, 1940 destroyed one-third of the city. The 1914 boundary treaty made Colón an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of the Republic of Panama entirely surrounded by the

. Under the 1936 Hull–Alfaro Treaty, the United States ceded the "Colón Corridor" from the Canal Zone; this was a strip under Panamanian jurisdiction just wide enough to build a road long connecting the city to the main eastern portion of the republic. During Panamanian nationalist unrest from the 1950s onwards, the U. S. military sometimes established checkpoints along the Colón Corridor, feeding the resentment that had led to the unrest.

Fort De Lesseps

Fort De Lesseps was a small U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps fort located at the northern tip of the city. It was named after the canal developer Ferdinand de Lesseps.

From 1948 to 1989

In 1948, the southeastern corner of Manzanillo Island was designated as the Colón Free Trade Zone. The Free Trade Zone has since been expanded through land reclamation on the Folks River and annexation of parts of France Field (now Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport) and

. Politically instigated riots in the 1960s destroyed the city's municipal palace and signaled the start of the city's decline, which was further accelerated by the military dictatorships of

Omar Torrijos Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Panamanian military leader of Panama, as well as the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially ...

and

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno ( , ; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially serv ...

from 1968 to 1987.

Since late 2014

A massive restoration and reconstruction project, involving parks, avenues and historic buildings and monuments, began in late 2014 and uses the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

s "#RenovaciónColón", "#CiudadDeColón", "#RenovationColon (Renovation of Colón)" and "#CityOfColon". The First Baptist Church of Colón, Panama, is one of the buildings whose renovation has been completed.

Climate

Like most of the Caribbean coast of Central America, Colón possesses an extremely wet tropical climate owing to the powerful, wet

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...

flowing onto high mountains throughout the year. Unlike most parts of this coast, however, February and March are sufficiently dry that Colón fits into the

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Am'') category rather than a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(''Af'') as found in most Caribbean coastal areas. Nonetheless, the June-to-December period, with an average monthly rainfall of around , is so wet that Colón rivals

La Ceiba La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida (department), Atlántida, and a port city on the northern Caribbean coast in Honduras. It forms part of the southeastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras. With ...

, Honduras as the wettest sizable city in Central America.

Population

Colón's population in 1900 was 3,001. It grew significantly with the building of the Panama Canal, becoming 31,203 by 1920. In 2000, the population was around 204,000. With the city's economic decline, many of its upper and middle-class residents left, reducing its ethnic diversity. European and American

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

communities, as well as Panamanians of Greek,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, Jewish, Chinese and Indian/South Asian heritage, started moving to

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, to former Canal Zone towns, and overseas. Today, sizable

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

communities live in the remaining prosperous areas of the city, as well as in gated communities outside it. The majority of the city's population is of West Indian or mixed

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

ancestry.

In popular culture

Literature

The main setting of the novella "''Latarnik''" ("The Lighthouse Keeper", 1881) by Polish author

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...

is the lighthouse in Aspinwall. Colón is also the setting of Argentine writer César Aira’s short 2002 novel ''Varamo''. Juan Gabriel Vásquez's ''The Secret History of Costaguana'' has many scenes set in late 19C and early 20C Colón.

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

's ''L'Aîné des Ferchaux'' has Colon as a location in the second part of the novel.

Sports

Colón is home to Correcaminos Colon, 2016 Basketball Champion of Panama and member of the FIBA Americas League. The team plays its home games at the Arena Teófilo "Panamá" Al Brown.

Transport

The city is served by the Panama Canal Railway and Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport.

People from Colón

Arts, sciences, politics, and military

* Kenneth B. Clark, psychologist, educator, testified in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'' *

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

, musician, songwriter, bandleader, educator * Pedro Heilbron,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Copa Holdings * Eric Jackson, publisher, journalist and talk show host * Delia de Leon (1901–1993), British actress, born in Colón * Jack de Leon (1902–1956), British theatre manager, impresario and playwright *

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, American politician, born in the U.S. Navy hospital at the

submarine base; the site is now in Colón * George E. Pierce, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and double Navy Cross recipient * Juan Williams, political commentator on Fox News

Athletes

* Antonio Amaya (1945–2025), professional boxer * Alfonso "Panama" Al Brown, boxer, first Hispanic World Champion *

Celestino Caballero Celestino Caballero (born June 21, 1976) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super) and IBF super bantamweight titles betwee ...

, boxer, WBA Super Bantamweight Champion, IBF Super Bantamweight Champion * Rod Carew,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player, inducted in 1991 to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

* Gary Forbes,

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player * Ruben Garces, College and Professional basketball player, power forward and center *

George Headley George Alphonso Headley Order of Distinction, OD, Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (30 May 1909 – 30 November 1983) was a Jamaican cricketer who played 22 Test cricket, Test matches, mostly before World War II. Co ...

(1909-1983),

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

cricketer born in Colón * Miguel Iriarte, boxer, fought for the WBA world Bantamweight title in 1982 * Ismael Laguna, boxer, World Featherweight Champion in 1965 and 1970 * Jorge Lujan, boxer, WBA and lineal world bantamweight champion * Ben Oglivie, Major League Baseball player * Irving Saladino, athlete,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

* Manny Sanguillén, catcher for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

* Rennie Stennett,

for the

. * Armando Dely Valdés, football player * Jorge Dely Valdés, football player * Julio Dely Valdés, football player

References

External links

*
Colón City Panama
extensive site about Colón, Panama
Map of Fort De Lesseps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Panama 1850 establishments in the Republic of New Granada Colón Province Panama Canal Populated coastal places in Panama Populated places established in 1850 Populated places in Colón Province Port cities in the Caribbean Port settlements in Central America Transcontinental cities Former exclaves