Gatun

Gatun ( Spanish: Lago Gatún ) - a reservoir in Panama , on the Isthmus of Panama , formed in 1907-1913 during the construction of the Panama Canal , which passes through a reservoir. Its area is about 425 km², the height of the water surface above sea level is 26 m, the total volume of water is about 5.2 km³. Of the 81.7 km of canal lengths, 32.6 km pass through Gatun.

Gatun
Location
A country	Panama
Provinces	Colon , Western Panama
Gatun

Gatun appeared after the construction of the Gatun dam on the Chagres River , 10 km from its confluence with the Atlantic Ocean and at the time of its occurrence was the largest artificial reservoir in the world. During its filling, a number of islands arose, the largest of which was Barro-Colorado , which now houses the Smithsonian Institute for Tropical Studies . Gatun Lake is an important link in the chain of water level change on the Panama Canal, between it and the Limon Bay of the Atlantic Ocean there is a three-chamber lock, towards the Pacific Ocean the canal continues from Lake Gatun at the same level almost to the coast where the locks are located. The water level in the lake determines the maximum draft of ships passing through the canal (11.59 meters in the summer of 2016) ^[1] .