<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> tropical; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 15%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 54%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 23%
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<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 320 sq km (1989 est.)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> NA
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified—Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean