Gatun Lake

Where is Gatun Lake?

Countries on its shores: Panama.

Largest body of water of: Panama.

Middle of the lake: 9.20° N, 79.90° W

The story behind it

Between 1907 and 1913, workers built the Gatún Dam across the Chagres River. The dam is about 2 300 metres long and 32 metres high. Behind it the river water rose, and in 1913 the lake began to fill. At that time it was the largest artificial lake in the world. Today ships travel about 33 kilometres across it. The lake also supplies the water for the canal locks – huge chambers that lift ships up and lower them down again – and it gives drinking water to Panama City and Colón. The biggest island in the lake, Barro Colorado Island, is a place where scientists study nature. Around 1967 a fish called the peacock bass was put into the lake, and since then far fewer kinds of native fish are found there. Panama has no natural lake of this size; its largest lake is this reservoir.

Find it on the globe

Gatun Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.