The Panama Canal Zone (Zona del Canal de Panamá), was a territory inside of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles (8.1 km) on each side of the centerline (but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have fallen in part within the limits of the Canal Zone.) Its border spanned two of Panama’s provinces and was created on November 18, 1903 with the signing of the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty. When artificial lakes were created to assure a steady supply of water for the locks, those lakes were included within the Zone.
Although it was a United States territory, the Zone did not have formal boundary restrictions on Panamanians transiting to either half of their country, or for any other visitors. A Panama Canal fence did exist along the main highway, although it was only a safety measure to separate pedestrians from traffic, and some of the U.S. territory was beyond it. In Panama City, if there were no protests interfering with movement, one could enter the Zone simply by crossing a street.
In 1904, the Isthmian Canal Convention was proclaimed. In it, the Republic of Panama granted to the United States in perpetuity the use, occupation, and control of a zone of land and land under water for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation, and protection of the canal. From 1903 to 1979, the territory was controlled by the United States, which had purchased the land from the private and public owners, built the canal and financed its construction.
The Canal Zone was abolished in 1979, as a term of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties two years earlier; the canal itself was later under joint U.S.–Panamanian control until it was fully turned over to Panama in 1999.
Articles
- Canal Zone First Issues (PDF)
- Gems of the Canal Zone (PDF)
- Panama Canal: The Channel Between the Seas (PDF)
- Stamps of the Canal Zone
Websites
YouTube
- Postal Pleasures: Canal Zone Stamps Ep1
- Stamp Chats: Canal Zone Overprints on Stamps of Panama and the United States
