Colon (English spelling)

Japanese: コロン（英語表記）Colón

A city on the north coast of central Panama. It is the second largest city in the country and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located at the entrance to the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side, and has the port city of Cristobal to the south. It was built at the northern starting point of the Panama Trans-Panama Railroad in 1850, and was originally called Aspinwall after one of the railroad's builders. After the railroad was completed (1855), it developed into the main port on the Caribbean side of Panama, but since it was built on the low-lying Manzanillo Island, the sanitary conditions were very poor until new drainage facilities were installed when the canal was excavated. Cristobal was located in the Canal Zone leased by the United States, and large-scale port facilities were built by the United States. In 1979, the Canal Zone was returned to Panama, and it is one of the most important ports in the Caribbean. It has been a free trade zone since 1953, and as a global commercial center, warehousing, collection, and transportation businesses have developed. It is connected to the capital, Panama City, by rail, canal, and road, and is a popular tourist center. It has a population of 54,469 (estimated in 1990).

colon
Colon

A city in central-western Cuba, about 150 km east-southeast of the capital, Havana. It is the center of an inland plain where sugarcane, fruit trees, tobacco, and other crops are cultivated, and poultry, cattle, and beekeeping are thriving. There are tobacco and fruit processing factories. A key transportation hub where railroads and roads branch out. Population 52,637 (1989 estimate).

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

パナマ中部北岸の都市。同国第2の都市で，同名州の州都。パナマ運河のカリブ海側の出入口にあり，港湾都市クリストバルを南にもつ。 1850年パナマ横断鉄道の建設に際して，その北の起点の地に建設され，鉄道建設者の一人の名前を取って初めアスピンウォールと呼ばれた。鉄道の完成 (1855) 以後，パナマのカリブ海側の主要港に発展したが，低湿なマンサニヨ島に建設されたため，運河開削時に新しい排水施設が整備されるまで，きわめて衛生状態が悪かった。アメリカ合衆国が租借地とした運河地帯にあったクリストバルには合衆国によって大規模な港湾施設が建設された。 1979年運河地帯はパナマに返還され，カリブ海域で最も重要な港の一つとなっている。 1953年以来自由貿易地区となっており，世界的な商業センターとして倉庫業，集荷業，運送業が発達している。首都パナマ市とは鉄道と運河のほか，道路でも結ばれ，観光中心地としてもにぎわう。人口5万 4469 (1990推計) 。