Gatun Dam
| Gatun Dam | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of Gatun Dam | |
| Country | Panama |
| Purpose | Multip-purpose |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1907 |
| Opening date | 1913 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Earth fill dam |
| Impounds | Chagres River |
| Height (foundation) | 32 metres (105 ft) |
| Length | 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) |
| Elevation at crest | 35 metres (115 ft) |
| Width (crest) | 121 metres (397 ft) |
| Width (base) | 640 metres (2,100 ft) |
| Dam volume | 21,000,000 cubic metres (740,000,000 cu ft) |
| Spillways | 14 |
| Spillway type | Mitre gate |
| Spillway length | 246 metres (807 ft) |
| Spillway volumetric flow rate | 4,880 cubic metres per second (172,000 cu ft/s) |
| Spillway type | Lock culverts |
| Spillway volumetric flow rate | 1,400 cubic metres per second (49,000 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Gatun Lake |
| Total capacity | 5.2 cubic kilometres (4,200,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Catchment area | 2,313 square kilometres (893 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 425 square kilometres (164 sq mi) |
| Normal elevation | 26 metres (85 ft) |
| Gatun Hydroelectric Power Plant | |
| Coordinates | 9°15′50″N 79°55′51″W / 9.26391°N 79.93088°W |
| Type | Conventional |
| Turbines | 3 |
| Installed capacity | 6 megawatts (8,000 hp) |
The Gatun Dam is an earthen dam across the Chagres River in Panama, near the town of Gatun. The dam, constructed between 1907 and 1913, is a crucial element of the Panama Canal; it impounds the artificial Gatun Lake, which carries ships 33 kilometres (21 mi) of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama. In addition, a hydro-electric generating station at the dam generates electricity which is used to operate the locks and other equipment in the canal.
Construction of the dam was a great engineering achievement, eclipsed only by the parallel excavation of the Culebra Cut; at the time of completion, the dam was the largest earth dam in the world, and Gatun Lake was the largest artificial lake in the world.