Coro is the capital of Falcón State and the oldest city in the west of Venezuela. It was founded on July 26, 1527 by Juan de Ampíes as Santa Ana de Coro. It is established at the south of the Paraguaná Peninsula in a coastal plain, flanked by the Médanos de Coro National Park to the north and the sierra de Coro to the south, at a few kilometers from its port (La Vela de Coro) in the Caribbean Sea at a point equidistant between the Ensenada de La Vela and Golfete de Coro. Thanks to the city’s history, culture and its well-preserved Colonial architecture, “Coro and its port La Vela” was designated in 1993 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, thus becoming the first site in Venezuela to be vested with this title. Since 2005 it is on the UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. read more…
Arica is a commune and a port city with a population of 196,590 in the Arica Province of northern Chile‘s Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile’s northernmost city, being located only 18 km (11 mi) south of the border with Peru. The city is the capital of both the Arica Province and the Arica and Parinacota Region. Arica has a mild, temperate climate with some of the lowest annual rainfall rates anywhere in the world, consequently there are rarely any clouds over Arica. Arica is located at the bend of South America’s western coast known as the Arica Bend or Arica Elbow. At the location of the city are two lush valleys that dissect the Atacama Desert converge: Azapa and Lluta. These valleys provide fruit for export. read more…
Santiago de Veraguas is the capital of the province of Veraguas, and the district or municipality of the same name. Located in the countryside on the banks of the Pan-American Highway. Bounded on the north by San Francisco District, south with the District of Montijo, east District of Atalaya and west by the District of La Mesa. The population of the city of Santiago is at 90,000. read more…
Penonomé is the capital of the province of Coclé with a populaton of 20,000. The town is located along the Inter-American Highway in the wide, flat lowlands of central Coclé. Especially for Carnival and the national festivals, the otherwise quiet city turns into a colorful spectacle with numerous open-air discos and lively street parades. read more…
Antón is a corregimiento in Antón District, Coclé Province. It is located near the north-western shore of the Gulf of Panama. It is the seat of Antón District. It has a land area of 106.3 square kilometres (41.0 sq mi) and had a population of 12,000. Most of them are mestizos, Chinese or African Americans. For Panamanian standards, the city is quite small, in the center there is a casino, three small supermarkets, run by the Chinese (“chinos”) and a market where livestock (chickens) are slaughtered and sold. read more…
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Yaviza is a town and corregimiento in Pinogana District, Darién Province, with a population of 4,500. The town marks the southeastern end of the northern half of the Pan-American Highway, at the north end of the Darién Gap. Two major national parks exist in the Darién Gap: Darién National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Darién) in Panama and Los Katíos National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional de Los Katíos) in Colombia. The Darién Gap forests had extensive cedrela and mahogany cover at one time, but many of these trees were removed by loggers. Darién National Park covers around 5,790 square kilometres of land and was established in 1980. It is the largest national park in Central America. read more…
Panama, officially called the Republic of Panama, is a country in Central America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia in South America to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half of the country’s 4 million people. Panama was inhabited by several indigenous tribes prior to settlement by the Spanish in the 16th century. Panama broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined, eventually becoming the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977 an agreement was signed for the transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the 20th century, which culminated on December 31, 1999. read more…
Manaus is the capital city of the state of Amazonas in the North Region of Brazil. It is situated near the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. With a population of more than 2 million, it is the most populous city of both the Brazilian state of Amazonas and the Amazon rainforest. Due to the great economic power and tourism it is the fourth richest city in Brazil, after São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. The city was founded in 1693–94 as the Fort of São José do Rio Negro. It was elevated to a town in 1832 with the name of “Manaus”, an altered spelling of the indigenous Manaós peoples, and legally transformed into a city on October 24, 1848, with the name of Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro, Portuguese for “The City of the Margins of the Black River”. On September 4, 1856 it returned to its original name. read more…