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Also in this section:
Gulf of San Miguel
Casco Viejo and the causeway
 

Satellite photo by the United States Geological Survey

The Gulf of San Miguel: a national treasure that many covet

The estuary seen from far above in this picture is a transportation route, seafood locker and tourism asset --- really, the Darien's most valuable asset. But it's an asset that all sorts of Colombian smugglers, economic interests based in Panama City and foreign fishing fleets would like to control. On the ground it's the object of conflicting claims by indigenous nations, longtime non-indigenous residents, settlers from exhausted farms in the central provinces and logging interests. As the rest of Panama's fisheries decline, the competition on the waters will get as acute as that for the land.

Despite the conflicts among humans and threats to ecosystem, this area is still a fabulous ecotourist attraction, with lots of birds found nowhere else in Panama and plenty of forest animals that are fast disappearing in other parts of the country.

Also in this section:
Gulf of San Miguel
Casco Viejo and the causeway