Chagres River

Chagres River
The Chagres River as seen from the highway between Panama City and Colon in 1986
Chagres River is located in Panama
Chagres River
Location of mouth
Native nameRío Chagres (Spanish)
Location
CountryPanama
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationChagres National Park, Panamá Province, Panama
 • coordinates9°24′N 79°17′W / 9.400°N 79.283°W / 9.400; -79.283
Mouth 
 • location
Chagres, Colón Province, Panama
 • coordinates
9°19′N 80°0′W / 9.317°N 80.000°W / 9.317; -80.000
Length120 mi (190 km), east to west [1]
Basin size1,259.5 sq mi (3,262 km2)

The Chagres River (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃaɣɾes]), in central Panama, is the largest river in the Panama Canal's watershed.[2] The river is dammed twice, and the resulting reservoirsGatun Lake and Lake Alajuela—form an integral part of the canal and its water system. Although the river's natural course runs northwest to its mouth at the Caribbean Sea, its waters also flow, via the canal's locks, into the Gulf of Panama to the south. The Chagres thus has the unusual claim of drainage into two oceans.

  1. ^ Peter L. Weaver and Gerald P. Bauer. "The San Lorenzo Protected Area: A Summary of Cultural and Natural Resources" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry. p. 63. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  2. ^ Building Knowledge Bridges for a Sustainable Water Future (PDF), Panama City, Panama: UNESCO, 2011, p. 168, archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2014, retrieved July 27, 2012