Lake gatun has an estimated $1.2 billion worth of
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When the Panama Canal engineers flooded this portion of the Chagres River Valley between 1906 and 1913, they created what at the time was the world’s largest artificial lake. Hilltops became islands and the 164-square-mile lake provided a 183 billion-cubic-foot reservoir permitting the year-round operation of the Canal locks.
Under water remain the virtually intact hardwoods of the former river valley, representing an estimated $1.2 billion worth of timber. Markers, some morbid buoys hung with cattle skulls, are driven into the submerged trunks to protect the lake’s vessels against navigational hazards.

