Lake Alajuela

{{Infobox body of water | name = Lake Alajuela | image = Lago Alajuela, Panama.jpg | caption = Natural-color satellite image of Lake Alajuela | image_bathymetry = |pushpin_map=Panama Panamá Province | caption_bathymetry = | location = Panamá Province, Panama | coords = {{Coord|9|14|04|N|79|34|32|W|type:waterbody_region:PA|display=title,inline}} | lake_type = Reservoir | inflow = | outflow = Panama Canal | catchment = {{convert|1026|km2|abbr=on}} | basin_countries = Panama | length = | width = | area = {{convert|50.2|km2|abbr=on}} | depth = | max-depth = | volume = ca. {{convert|600|hm3|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hulman |first=Lewis G. |date=1972 |title=System Relationships a Panama Canal Water Supply Study |journal=Water Resources Research |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=774–778 |doi=10.1029/WR008i003p00769 |hdl=2027/uc1.31210024723247 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>) | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = {{convert|76.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} | islands = | sections = | cities = | frozen = }} {{Location map|Panama|lat_dir=N|lat_deg=9|lat_min=12.669|lon_dir=W|lon_deg=79|lon_min=36.981|width=300|caption=Location within Panama|label=Lake Alajuela}}

'''Lake Alajuela''' ({{langx|es|Lago Alajuela}}) is an artificial lake in the Chagres River basin. The lake is bounded 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.<ref name="Earth Observatory" >{{cite web |title=Lago Alajuela, Panama |date=21 December 2010 |publisher=NASA |url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=48025 }}</ref> It was created in 1935 by damming up the Madden River. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fundacionchagres.org/chagres-hidrologia.html |title=Parque Nacional Chagres: Hidrología |author=Fundación Parque Nacional Chagres |access-date=28 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509024221/http://www.fundacionchagres.org/chagres-hidrologia.html |archivedate=9 May 2012 }}</ref> As of 1987, it provided all of the drinking water for Panama City.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moreno |first=Stanley Heckadon |author1-link=Stanley Heckadon Moreno |date=1993 |title=Impact of Development on the Panama Canal Environment |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/165971 |journal=Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=129–149 |doi=10.2307/165971 |jstor=165971 |issn=0022-1937|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

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 was handed over to Panama.<ref name="Earth Observatory" />

In early December 2010, Lake Alajuela reached its highest recorded water level, prompting authorities to close the Panama Canal for 17 hours.<ref name="Earth Observatory" /> The canal reopened on December 9.

In late August 2023, the lake was reported to be at its lowest levels in recent years, limiting Panama Canal traffic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sheridan |first=Mary Beth |date=2023-08-24 |title=Traffic jam at Panama Canal as water level plummets |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/24/panama-canal-ship-backup/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

Alajuela Alajuela Lakes