Panama City, Panama is on the Panama Canal.
Panama City
If you consider Panama to be a North American country. (Since the canal runs through it, the country is divide between the north part of the country which is in North American and the southern part which is in South America.) If Panama is considered, the answer is Panama City, Panama. If not, the closest exclusively North American capital is San Jose, Costa Rica.
San Jose, Costa Rica, is the capital of the North American nation other than Panama that is closest to the Panama Canal.
The capital city of Panama is Panama City, which straddles the Panama Canal (originally the US-occupied Canal Zone).
The Panama Canal runs through the capital of Panama, which is Panama City.Panama City, Panama.
The Panama Canal does not surround Panama, rather, it bisects Panama. It travels from the Atlantic Ocean on the east side of Panama to the Pacific Ocean on the west side of Panama, passing through the middle of the country, so approximately half of Panama is north of the canal and half is south of the canal.
Florida.
The city of Colon is the entrance to the Panama Canal. It lies at the northern most end of the canal.
Costa Rica
Balboa and Colon are two cities in Panama besides Panama City
Before air travel, the Panama Canal was the shortcut from New York City to San Francisco. Today it is still a shortcut if you are traveling by water.