CHAGRES RIVER

Spanish Ro Chagres stream in Panama forming part of the Panama Canal system. It rises in the Cordillera de San Blas, flows south-southwest, and broadens to form Madden Lake (22 square miles [57 square km]) at Madden Dam, which was built in 1935 for navigation, flood control, and hydroelectric power. Below the dam it continues southwest to Gamboa, where it joins the Panama Canal at the north end of the Gaillard Cut. Its course then turns northward through Gatn Lake, created by the Gatn Dam (1912) with which are associated locks and a hydroelectric plant. The Chagres there leaves the canal and flows into the Caribbean Sea west of Limn Bay. Originally characterized by rapids throughout, the river is navigable only in its canalized portions.