lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...
on the northwest coast of
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
covering an area of about . It is separated from the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
by the
Valiente Peninsula
Valiente may refer to:
*Valiente (surname), a surname
*Valiente (wrestler), a Mexican wrestler
*Valiente Peak, a mountain of Antarctica
* ''Valiente'' (1992 TV series), a Philippine television series
* ''Valiente'' (2012 TV series), a Philippine t ...
to the east and from
Almirante Bay
Almirante is the Spanish and Portuguese word for admiral. It may also refer to:
Places
* Almirante, original name of Laurel Hill, Florida, a city in U.S.
* Almirante, Bocas del Toro, a city in Panama
* Almirante District, a district of Bocas del ...
by islands in the
Bocas del Toro Archipelago
The Bocas del Toro Archipelago is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea in the northwest of Panama. The archipelago separates Almirante Bay and Chiriquí Lagoon from the open Caribbean Sea. The archipelago is part of the Bocas del Toro Distric ...
Isla Popa
Popa Island (in Spanish: ''Isla Popa'') is the second largest island in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental c ...
. The widest and deepest entrance into the bay is the Canal del Tigre in the northeast, which is the main access channel for ships entering the lagoon.
The temperature of the water in the lagoon ranges from 26 to 28 °C. Salinity can be as low as 1.015 ( SG) due to runoff from rivers, especially during the rainy season. The mean
tidal range
Tidal range is the difference in height between high tide and low tide. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and Sun and the rotation of Earth. Tidal range depends on time and location.
...
is with a maximum range of ; tidal flow in the lagoon is weak.
Rivers that drain into Chiriquí Lagoon include the Guariviara River and Cricamola River, both of which flow through the wetlands on the southeast shore of the lagoon. These are protected as part of the
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
** Damani-Guariviara, which covers of land between the lagoon and the Caribbean coast.
There are periods of low rainfall in March and September–October, and periods of high rainfall in July and December. The annual rainfall in the region is about , being higher in the southeast part of the lagoon. February is the windiest month in the lagoon.
Native Americans guided
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
into the lagoon in 1502 during his search for a connection to the Pacific Ocean. The
Ngäbe
The Ngäbe are an indigenous people within the territories of present-day Panama and Costa Rica in Central America. The Ngäbe mostly live within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca in the Western Panamanian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí and Bocas del ...
continue to inhabit the southern and eastern coasts of the lagoon. The lagoon is administratively divided between
Bocas del Toro Province
Bocas del Toro (; meaning "Mouth of the Bull") is a province of Panama. Its area is 4,643.9 square kilometers, comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante (Almirante ...
in the west and
Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca
Ngäbe-Buglé () is the largest and most populous of Panama's five '' comarcas indígenas''. It was created in 1997 from lands formerly belonging to the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, and Veraguas. The capital is known as Buäbiti in ...
in the east.
Coal deposits were discovered in the area in the mid-19th century. The port of
Chiriquí Grande
Chiriquí Grande is a Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento in Chiriquí Grande District, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. It is the seat of Chiriquí Grande District. It has a land area of and had a population of 3,014 as of 2010, giving it ...
is the northern terminus of the
Trans-Panama pipeline
The Trans-Panama Pipeline ( es, Oleoducto Chiriqui Bocas del Toro) is an oil pipeline across Panama near the Costa Rican border from the port of Chiriqui Grande, Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast to the port of Charco Azul on the Pacific co ...
. The terminal was the site of an
oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into ...
on 4 February 2007 that leaked 5030
barrels
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...