Alajuela Lake

Alajuela Lake
Natural-colour satellite image of Lake Alajuela
Location Panamá
Coordinates 9°14′04″N 79°34′32″W / 9.23444°N 79.57556°W / 9.23444; -79.57556Coordinates: 9°14′04″N 79°34′32″W / 9.23444°N 79.57556°W / 9.23444; -79.57556
Lake type Reservoir
Primary outflows Panama Canal
Catchment area 1,026 km2 (396 sq mi)
Basin countries Panama
Surface area 50.2 km2 (19.4 sq mi)
Water volume ca. 600 hm3 (750,000 ac ft[1])
Surface elevation 76.8 m (252 ft)
Lake Alajuela
Location within Panama

Alajuela Lake (Spanish: Lago Alajuela) is an artificial lake on the Chagres River created by the Madden Dam and linked to the Panama Canal. Lake Alajuela serves as a reservoir for the canal, which lies to the lake’s southwest.[2] The Chagres, Pequení, Boquerón, Salamanca, La Puente, Indio, Piedras, San Cristóbal and Escandaloso rivers flow into the lake. The rivers of Lake Alajuela contribute 45 percent of the total water for the canal.[3]

The reservoir was formerly known as Madden Lake when the Canal Zone was under U.S. administration and was renamed after control of the canal reverted to Panama.[2]

In early December 2010, Lake Alajuela reached its highest recorded water level, prompting authorities to close the Panama Canal for 17 hours.[2] The canal reopened on December 9.

References

  1. ↑ Hulman, Lewis G. (1972). "System Relationships a Panama Canal Water Supply Study". Water Resources Research. 8 (3): 774–778. doi:10.1029/WR008i003p00769.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lago Alajuela, Panama". NASA.
  3. ↑ Fundación Parque Nacional Chagres. "Parque Nacional Chagres: Hidrología". Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.