Circle the area on this map
A. Panama is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Pacific Ocean to the south, Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the southeast. In addition to rising sea levels, island residents also face stronger storms fed by warming ocean waters.
B. Panama is the narrowest point of the isthmus that is Central America, the North American land bridge that connects to South America between the Atlantic and Pacific. Long before the Panama Canal was built, the country was a transit point for goods and people crossing between ships on the two oceans.
C. In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadors began arriving in what is now Panama and began using it as a pathway between the oceans. Over the next three centuries, Spain used the narrow isthmus to transfer tons of treasure from the new world.
D. The people of the isthmus made over 80 attempts to secede from Colombia. The United States recognized Panama’s independence in 1903 and quickly made a deal to build the Panama Canal between the oceans. Panama took complete control of the canal in 1999.