Veraguas () is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers an area of and in 2023 it had a population of 259,791.Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.

History

Veraguas was originally inhabited by the Veraguas culture.

Veraguas was explored by Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage. He tried to establish the first colony in the new Spanish mainland but failed due to resistance from Indigenous peoples. Diego de Nicuesa also tried to establish a colony and failed, which made him create a colony to fight against the Indigenous population, which he named Nombre de Dios. Its capital, Santiago de Veraguas, was founded about 1636.Gudeman, Stephen (2004), The Demise of a Rural Economy: From Subsistence to Capitalism in a Latin, Routledge, p. 17,

A province called Veraguas containing Santiago de Veraguas, but with changing boundaries over time, existed in Gran Colombia, the Republic of New Granada, and at times during the Panama State era.

It is said that its name comes from the indigenous word "Veracua" or "Viragua", though other theories abound. It is the only province in Panama with coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The majority of people live on the Pacific side; the Caribbean coast is mostly uninhabited.

Tourism Veraguas has many groups of inhabitants, mainly of Spanish/Indigenous origin named campesinos. This land offers tourists and visitors close contact with nature. Forests, mountains, coasts, and islands where there are more than 200 varieties of orchids; more than 400 species of birds, in addition to mammals, reptiles, and insects.

The various national parks in Veraguas include Coiba National Park (with the largest coral reef of the Pacific coast of America), Cerro Hoya National Park (covers the southwest part of the Azuero Peninsula and the sea that surrounds it), Santa Fe National Park (a forest in the northern region), La Yeguada Forest reserve (with a great artificial lake for generation of hydro electricity) and El Montuoso Forest reserve.

Beaches such as Playa Santa Catalina, Playa Mariato, Malena, and Torio offer great places for recreation, surfing, and fishing. Another famous touristic area is the Iglesia de San Francisco de la Montaña. This church has a Baroque architecture and dates back to 1727. It was declared a National Historical Monument on January 27, 1937.

Administrative divisions Veraguas Province is divided into 12 distritos (districts) and subdivided into 104 corregimientos.

DistritoArea(km2)Population Estimate2010As at 1 July 2010; adjusted for under-enumeration in 2010 Census. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá.Population Estimate2019Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Ciudad de Panamá. Atalaya15610,74911,321 Calobre80612,11212,159 Cañazas78917,73718,022 La Mesa51112,25612,062 Las Palmas1,01518,51618,493 Mariato1,3815,5845,564 Montijo7806,9287,060 Río de Jesús3025,3765,501 San Francisco43710,41210,536 Santa Fe1,92016,42317,341 Santiago97193,84199,821 Soná1,51929,32929,774

District Cabecera (Seat) Atalaya District Jesús Nazareno de Atalaya, El Barrito, La Montañuela, San Antonio, La Carrillo Jesús Nazareno de Atalaya Calobre District Calobre, Barnizal, Chitra, El Cocla, El Potrero, La Laguna, La Raya de Calobre, La Tetilla, La Yeguada, Las Guías, Monjarás, San José Calobre Cañazas District San Francisco Javier de Cañazas, Cerro de Plata, Los Valles, San Marcelo, El Picador, San José, El Aromillo, Las Cruces San Francisco Javier de Cañazas La Mesa District La Mesa, Bisvalles, Boró, Llano Grande, San Bartolo, Los Milagros, El Higo La Mesa Las Palmas District Las Palmas, Cerro de Casa, Corozal, El María, El Prado, El Rincón, Lolá, Pixvae, Puerto Vidal, Zapotillo, San Martín de Porres, Viguí, Manuel Encarnación Amador Terreros Las Palmas Mariato District Mariato, Arenas, El Cacao, Quebro, Tebario Mariato Montijo District Montijo, Isla Gobernadora, La Garceana, Leones, Pilón, Cébaco, Costa Hermosa, Unión del Norte Montijo Río de Jesús District La Ermita de Río de Jesús, Catorce de Noviembre, Las Huacas, Los Castillos, Utira, Nuevo San Juan La Ermita de Río de Jesús San Francisco District San Francisco de la Montaña, Corral Falso, Los Hatillos, Remance, San Juan, San José San Francisco de la Montaña Santa Fe District Santa Fe, Calovébora, El Alto, El Cuay, El Pantano, Gatuncito, Río Luis, Rubén Cantú Santa Fe Santiago District Santiago Apóstol de Veraguas, La Colorada, La Peña, La Raya de Santa María, Ponuga, San Pedro del Espino, Canto del Llano, Los Algarrobos, Carlos Santana Ávila, Edwin Fábrega, San Martín de Porres, Urracá, La Soledad, Rincón Largo, El Llanito Santiago Apóstol de Veraguas Soná District Soná, Bahía Honda, Calidonia, Cativé, El Marañón, Guarumal, La Soledad, Quebrada de Oro, Río Grande, Rodeo Viejo, Hicaco Soná

See also Veragua Veraguas Club Deportivo, a football team F.C. Veraguas 2010, a football team

References

External links

Official website of Santiago de Veraguas