Photos

This shaded-relief perspective view - generated using topographic data from a space shuttle mission - shows the Panama Canal with the Pacific-side Gulf of Panama in the foreground and the Caribbean Sea in the distance. Water levels are maintained along its length by three reservoirs, the largest of which is Lake Gatun, visible at the right center of the image. Built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914, the canal extends for approximately 80 km (50 mi), and is widely considered to be one of the world's great engineering achievements. Imagery credit: NASA.

Kuna Indians rowing past their villages in the San Blas Islands of northeastern Panama.

A view of the Panama Canal at night, including one of the locks buildings and a "mule," one of the trains that pull ships through the locks.

Two container ships passing through locks of the Panama Canal.

The rocky coast of Iguana Island on the Pacific coast of Panama. Sparsely inhabited by humans, this wildlife refuge teems with amazing bird and marine life.

The ruins of a jungle prison on the island of Coiba in Panama. The entire island was once a penal colony, but is now a nature reserve. The last few prisoners, who have no other home, tend the ruins of the main prison grounds.

A parrot fish swimming in a Panamanian coral reef.

A Panamanian coral reef.

A tropical reef fish.

An inviting Panama beach.

A section of the Panama Canal.

Canons at the fortress in Portobelo.