Panama – Gatún Lake
A route through fresh water
Created by damming the wild Chagres River, this 425 sq km lake represents most of the Canal shipping route through the Panamanian interior. It is 27 m above sea level.
Fuerte Amador
Originally Fort Grant, a US Army base built for defending the Canal during constriction. Built on spoil from the Canal excavation, it was turned over to Panama in 1998 and is now a cruise port.
A seaside monument.
A Busy Waterway
All of the Canal’s traffic passes through a narrow defined route across the middle of the lake. This containership approaches the locks descending to the Atlantic side.
Colón
Looking from The Atlantic Bridge.
Under Tow
A tug pulls a freighter across Gatûn Lake.
Running the Port
These engineering and administrative buildings are at the Atlantic end of the Canal.
Water Towers
Near Colón on the Atlantic side.
The Rainforest
Gatún Lake is surrounded by impenetrable rainforest, and the islands in it are also thickly forested. Here the original wildlife of Panama is preserved.
Verdant Water
Algae proliferate in the warm water, especially near the shore. Wildlife preservation has not gone so well in the water, where the introduced peacock bass has wiped out three-quarters of the original fish species.
Old Pilings
The disused Vikings and fallen logs in the Lake host their own ecosystem of fungi.
Impenetrable
The density of this forest is the Canal’s best defense, and has preserved the animals.
A Tree Sloth
Moving very slowly, this tree sloth stretches out on a limb.
Monkeys
There are several species of monkey here: the mantled howler, Geoffrey’s spider monkey, and the Panamanian white-faced capuchin and night monkey.
