Chagres National Park is a

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

and

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

created in 1986 located in the

Panamá Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and Colón provinces, in the Eastern sector of the Panama Canal with a total surface area of . The park extends across the Chagres Highlands, a group of low mountains drained by the headwaters of the

Chagres River The Chagres River (), in central Panama, is the largest river in the Panama Canal's drainage basin. The river is dammed twice, and the resulting reservoirs—Gatun Lake and Lake Alajuela—form an integral part of the canal and its water ...

. The southern portion of the highlands is known as the Serranía Piedras-Pacora, and forms a portion of the

Continental Divide of the Americas The Continental Divide of the Americas (also known as the Great Divide, the Western Divide or simply the Continental Divide; ) is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from t ...

.Charles W. Myers, Roberto Ibáñez D., Taran Grant, César A. Jaramillo "Discovery of the Frog Genus Anomaloglossus in Panama, with Descriptions of Two New Species from the Chagres Highlands (Dendrobatoidea: Aromobatidae)," American Museum Novitates, 2012(3763), 1-19, (21 November 2012) The park adjoins Portobelo National Park on the northwest, and Narganá Wilderness Area on the east.

Environment

The park contains tropical rain forests and a set of rivers which provide sufficient water to guarantee the operation of the

Gatun Lake Gatun Lake () is a mostly freshwater (slightly saline near the locks) reservoir to the south of Colón, Panama. At approximately above sea level, it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships of their transit across the Isthmus of P ...

, main lake of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

: the

and the Gatun River. The highest point of the park is Cerro Jefe, at 1,007 m above sea level. It is considered a Key

Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

Area of international significance. It has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

. The frog '' Ectopoglossus isthminus'' is nearly endemic to the national park.

Panama Canal Watershed

The park was created in 1985,Ecotourismpanama.com
/ref> with the aim of preserving the natural forest that composes it * to produce water in amount and quality sufficient to guarantee the normal operation of the Panama Canal * to supply potable water for the cities of Panama, Colon and la Chorrera, * and the generation of electricity for the cities of Panama and Colon.

References

{{authority control National parks of Panama Important Bird Areas of Panama Protected areas established in 1985 Panamá Province Colón Province Tourist attractions in Colón Province Tourist attractions in Panamá Province 1985 establishments in Panama