The Gatun Dam is a large 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 in turn carries ships for 33 km (20 statute miles) 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. An Earthen dam is constructed as a simple homogeneous embankment of well-compacted earth, sometimes with a watertight concrete or clay core or upstream face, or sometimes with a hydraulic fill to produce a watertight core. ... The Chagres River (Spanish: Río Chagres) is a river in central Panama. ... Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... Ships follow marked channels amongst the hilltop islands. ... A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... The Isthmus of Panama. ... Hydroelectricity is the worlds leading renewable energy source. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Canal locks in England. ...

Construction of the dam was a great engineering achievement, eclipsed only by the parallel excavation of the Gaillard Cut; at the time of completion, the dam was the largest earth dam in the world, and Lake Gatun was the largest artificial lake in the world. The Gaillard Cut, or Culebra Cut, is a man-made valley cutting through the continental divide in Panama. ... Blowdown Lake in the mountains near Pemberton, British Columbia A lake (from Latin lacus) is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. ...

Description

The dam is situated in the valley of the Chagres River, about 10 km (6 miles) from its mouth in the Caribbean Sea. The hills bordering the valley of the Chagres form a gap just over 2 km (1.4 miles) wide at this point, with a natural rocky hill in the centre of the gap. The gap is filled by an earth dam, 640 metres (2,100 ft) thick at the base, 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) long along the top, 121 metres (398 ft) thick at the water level, and 30 metres (100 ft) thick at the top, which is 9 metres (30 ft) above the normal lake level. The Chagres River (Spanish: Río Chagres) is a river in central Panama. ... Map of Central America and the Caribbean Caribbean Sea from space (top left). ...

The spillway for the dam is constructed on the central hill; it consists of a semi-circular concrete dam, which regulates the flow of water down a concrete channel built into the back slope of the hill. The spillway dam itself measures 225 metres (740 ft) along the top; its crest is at 16 feet below the normal lake level. The spillway is designed so that water pouring over the semi-circular dam converges at the bottom from opposite directions and neutralises its own force, thus minimising erosion below. Spillway of Llyn Brianne dam in Wales A Spillway is a structure used to provide for the controlled release of flood flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that has been dammed. ...

The spillway dam is topped by 14 gates, supported by concrete piers and each 14 metres (45 ft) wide by 6 metres (20 ft) high. These gates, which are electrically operated, are raised or lowered to control the flow of water; with the lake level at 26.5 metres (87 ft), its planned maximum level, the capacity of the spillway is 4,100 m³ (145,000 ft³) per second, more than the maximum flow of the Chagres River. In addition to this, the culverts in the locks can dispose of 1,400 m³ (50,000 ft³) per second.

Gatun Lake has an area of 425 km² (164 square miles) at its normal level; it stores 5.2 cubic kilometres (4,200,000 acre-feet) of water, which is about as much as the Chagres River brings down in an average year. To help compare different orders of magnitudes this page lists volumes between 1 and 10 cubic kilometres ( to cubic metres). ... An acre foot is a unit of volume commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, and river flows. ...

Power Generation

The dam incorporates a hydro-electric generating station, which is situated on the east side of the spillway discharge channel. This uses water from the lake to drive a number of turbine-generators; as first commissioned, three generators were installed, producing a total of 6 megawatts of electricity. The power generated is used for the operation of the lock and spillway machinery, and for the lighting of the locks and the canal villages. Hydroelectricity is the worlds leading renewable energy source. ... A Siemens steam turbine with the case opened. ... “Dynamo” redirects here. ... The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one million (106) watts. ...

Construction

This map from the construction era illustrates the area around the dam and locks, which are shown superposed over the previous French excavations.

As described in History of the Panama Canal, the canal effort was begun by a French team, who planned to construct a sea-level canal linking the two coasts; this would not have required the dam to be built. When the United States took over this effort on 4 May 1904, some time was spent in preparation and planning before the work got up to full speed, and it was not until 1906 that a lock-based canal was decided upon. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 583 pixelsFull resolution (1045 × 762 pixel, file size: 128 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This map from the construction of the Panama Canal illustrates the north end of the canal, showing the area around the Gatun locks and Gatun Dam. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 583 pixelsFull resolution (1045 × 762 pixel, file size: 128 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This map from the construction of the Panama Canal illustrates the north end of the canal, showing the area around the Gatun locks and Gatun Dam. ... The History of the Panama Canal goes back almost to the earliest explorers of the Americas. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Even before this decision was made, Major George Washington Goethals, the chief engineer for the bulk of the construction effort, had already carried out an investigation into the suitability of the land at Gatun for the building of a large dam. Extensive test borings were made to determine the suitability of the land, and pressure tests were carried out on the material to be used in construction to determine its durability. George Washington Goethals George Washington Goethals [Go-tuhles] (29 June 1858 - 21 January 1928) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer, best known for his supervision of construction and the opening of the Panama Canal. ...

The Gatun location was in most ways ideal for a dam; the hills enclosing the Chagres open very wide around the area that is now the lake, then close in to a relatively narrow gap with a natural rock-based hill in the centre. This allows a relatively small dam to enclose a huge body of water, which both provides passage for ships across much of the isthmus, and provides a reservoir of water with which to operate the locks. The central hill was the ideal solid base for the construction of the concrete spillway and its dam, the main part of the dam being earth. The only problem was the huge scale of the dam required. The Ashokan Reservoir, located in Ulster County, New York, USA. It is one of 19 that supplies New York City with drinking water. ...

The dam was constructed by creating two parallel walls of stone, 366 metres (1200 ft) apart, using material excavated from Culebra and the lock site. Between these walls an impervious core was created, using a hydraulic fill technique; this was facilitated by the soft clay present in the valley below. Dredges were used to excavate this clay and pump it up into a pond between the outer walls of the dam; the material was allowed to settle out, and the water was drawn off and pumped back downstream. Thus, a solid core of natural cement was constructed within the dam. A hydraulic fill is an embankment or other fill in which the materials are deposited in place by a flowing stream of water, with the deposition being selective. ...

After the dam was built to its desired height, the entire up-stream side was armoured by placing large boulders on the face, particularly where there is strong wave action, to break the force of the waves.

The dam contains some 17,000,000 m³ (22,000,000 cubic yards) of material, and weighs some 27,000,000 tonnes (30,000,000 short tons). It covers 1.17 km² (288 acres) of ground, and contains enough earth and rock to build a wall 1½ metres high and 29 cm thick (or four foot eight inches high and a foot thick) around the earth at the equator. To help compare different orders of magnitudes this page lists volumes between 10 million and 100 million ( to ) cubic metres. ...

References

• History Of The Panama Canal, by Ira E. Bennett

• The Panama Canal, by Colonel George W. Goethals

Coordinates: 9°16′N, 79°56′W Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... The History of the Panama Canal goes back almost to the earliest explorers of the Americas. ... One of the greatest challenges facing the builders of the Panama Canal was dealing with the tropical diseases rife in the area. ... The Panama Railway or Panama Railroad was the worlds first transcontinental railroad. ... The Gaillard Cut, or Culebra Cut, is a man-made valley cutting through the continental divide in Panama. ... The Chagres River (Spanish: Río Chagres) is a river in central Panama. ... Ships follow marked channels amongst the hilltop islands. ... The Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal, looking north towards the Atlantic Ocean. ... The two ships seen here seem almost to be touching the walls of the Miraflores Locks. ... The Bridge of the Americas (Spanish: Puente de las Américas; originally known as the Thatcher Ferry Bridge) is a road bridge in Panama, which spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. ... Panamas Centennial Bridge (Spanish: Puente Centenario) is a major bridge crossing the Panama Canal, and hence connecting North and South America. ... The Panama Canal Authority (Spanish: Autoridad del Canal de Panamá, or ACP) is the agency of the government of Panama responsible for the operation and management of the Panama Canal. ... The Panama Canal Zone (Spanish: ), was a 553 square mile (1,432 km²) territory inside of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles (8. ... Components of the project The Third Set of Locks Project is a megaproject that will expand the Panama Canal more so than any previous expansion since the Canals construction. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...