History
The commander Diego Cueto and his helmsman, Pedro de Umbria, visited the region in 1506.
The Chagres River was explored in 1527 by Hernando de la Serna, who founded the town of Chagres at its mouth and built the fortress of San Lorenzo. Goods were transported on foot from Panama City to the coastal town of Cruces, and from there by sailboats on the river all the way to its mouth. This path, called Camino de Cruces, was very popular until the 18th century.
Henry Morgan traveled the Chagres River to attack Panama City in 1670-71.
It wasn't until the late 19th century that attention was once again focused on the river, this time as part of the planning of the Panama Canal. The Chagres River is the Panama Canal's chief source of water.
The river's upper basin is covered by dense tropical forests. To protect that ecosystem, Panama created Chagres National Park in 1985.
Read more about this topic: Chagres River
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