Colón

Chief port and second-largest city of Panama, built on Manzanillo Island at the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal, 80 km/50 mi northwest of Panamá, capital city of Colón province; population (2000 est) 53,200 (town), 204,200 (province). It is also the Caribbean terminus of the Panama railway, and a major commercial centre with an oil refining industry. It is second only to Hong Kong among the major free ports of the world: the leading exports include bananas, coconuts, pineapples, mahogany, and balata. The free trade zone, created in 1948, has had a pivotal role in bolstering the Panamanian economy.

Colón was founded in 1850 as the isthmus railway terminal, and named Aspinwall in 1852, after the railway builder William Aspinwall; it was renamed Colón in 1890, in honour of the explorer Christopher Columbus (Spanish Cristóbal Colón). Colón is merged with its twin city and port, Cristóbal, which was founded as the port of entry for the supplies and materials used in the construction of the Panama Canal.

Colón's free trade zone is used by Latin American companies to avoid taxes on completed products in their home countries.