How many miles are between Miami and Panama City Panama?

Answer 1

About 1163 miles. Here's why: Miami, FL is about 25.8 degrees North latitude. Panama City, Panama is about 9.0 degrees N. The difference is about 16.8 degrees, or .293 radians. The radius of the earth is about 6378 km. So the N-S surface distance along the Earth's surface is .293 times 6378, or about 1870 km. Similarly, Miami is about 80.2 degrees W longitude. Panama City is about 79.5 degrees W. The difference is about .7 degrees, or .0122 radians. .0122 x 6378 = about 78 km. Now we have a right triangle with 1870 km on one leg and 78 km on another. The hypotenuse is sqrt(1870^2 + 78 ^2) or about 1872 km. (We probably could have neglected the E-W distance, since they are on virtually the same longitude.) The answer is 1872 km. To convert to miles, multiply by .6214 to arrive at 1163 mi.