| Santa Cruz de Cana | |
| Settlement Type: | Former populated place/gold mine |
| Pushpin Map: | Panama |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Panama |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Darién |
| Timezone1: | EST |
| Utc Offset1: | −5 |
| Blank Name: | Climate |
| Blank Info: | Am |
Santa Cruz de Cana, popularly called Cana today, is the site of a former gold mine, and fort and village, founded by Spaniards, located in Darién Province, Panama. Now located within Darién National Park, the site is best known today for bird-watching.
The Spaniards were engaged in very active mining activity at Cana (the mine being called "Espíritu Santo de Cana") during the mid-17th century—with reports that mining began in 1665—and it was the most important gold mine in Panama. The mine was subject to raids by English pirates a number of times in the early 1700s. Nathaniel Davis wrote that at the time of the 1702 raid, the town had around 900 houses and a church. The mine was abandoned after a shaft collapse that killed two miners in 1727, in addition to attacks from pirate and Indigenous peoples.[1] The site became uninhabited by the mid-19th century[2]
Attempts to resume mining returned in the late 1800s. In the early 1900s, a single-gage railway ran from the mines to the town of Boca de Cupe, where the Tuira River was navigable, to support renewed mining activity.[3] It ceased operating in 1911. The rail course is now a "mine trail" between the two locations.[4] [5]
Now located within Darién National Park, it is known for bird-watching, despite its very remote location.[6]