Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Cristóbal is a port in the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. It is located on the western edge of Manzanillo Island and is part of the Panamanian city and province of Colón. Cristóbal Colón is the Spanish translation for Christopher Columbus, an explorer from Italy and for whom these places were named. What came to be known as "Old Cristóbal," and today consists of the port of Cristóbal, was first built by the Panama Railroad Company in the 1850s at the time they dredged part of the 650 acres of virgin swamp on Manzanillo Island to build their headquarters and port of arrival for railway travelers.