town of New Granada, on the southern shore of the isthmus of the same name, stands on a tongue of land projecting into the Bay of Panama, N. Lat. 8° 57', W. Long. 79° 30'. The plan of the town possesses some regularity, but is not entirely uniform; the principal streets extend across the peninsula on which it is built. The streets are better cleaned than in most of the Spanish towns in America. It is for the most part substantially built in the old Spanish style, and all the larger houses have interior courts, or patios, as they are called. The chief public edifices are—an elegant cathedral, several convents, a nunnery, and a college. The fortifications of the town consist of high walls and irregularly-constructed bastions, which have been added at various times, as the protection of the place required. The harbour of Panama is sheltered by several islands at some distance from the land. These form one of the finest roadsteads in the world, with very safe anchorage. The trade of the place is very considerable, and is likely to be much increased by the railway which has been recently constructed between this place and Aspinwall, on the Atlantic shore of the isthmus, although the immediate effect of this improvement has been to reduce the importance of Panama in comparison with Aspinwall. Quinine bark, cacao, India-rubber, hides, pearl oysters, and other articles, are exported from hence to Europe; and it is expected that most of the trade formerly carried on round Cape Horn will now pass through Panama. The town was originally built by the Spaniards, on a spot about 3 miles to the east of the modern town; but it was burned down in 1670 by Sir Henry Morgan, the buccaneer, and afterwards rebuilt in its present position. Pop. 6000.

Darien, Isthmus of, connects the continents of North and South America, and forms a state of the republic of New Granada. Its shape is that of an arc of a circle, curving towards the N., and inclosing the Bay of Panama on the S. Both sides of the isthmus are indented by several creeks and harbours, of which the most important are Port Escoces and Navy Bay on the N., and the harbours of Panama and San Miguel on the S. The interior of the isthmus is little known. Part of it is occupied by the Cordillera, or great mountain chain which extends through the American continent; but this mountainous region is interrupted by tracts of low level ground. These plains are well watered, thickly wooded, and rich in minerals and the vegetable produce of tropical countries. Besides the railway from Aspinwall to Panama, a canal has been proposed from Port Escoces to San Miguel. The breadth of the isthmus varies from 30 to 70 miles, being narrowest at Panama. The chief river of Panama is the Chagres, which flows first westward, then northward, and falls into the Atlantic, after a course of 80 or 90 miles, for 44 of which it is navigable by barges. Before the construction of the railway it was of much importance, as goods were conveyed by it part of the distance across the isthmus; and the town of Chagres, at its mouth, was the chief port on the north side of Panama. This was, however, at best a wretchedly-built and very unhealthy place, with a shallow and unsatisfactory harbour, and is now quite deserted, having been supplanted by the new town of Aspinwall on Navy Bay. Pop. of the state of Panama, 138,108.