The
Darién Gap is a break in the
Pan-American Highway consisting of a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest within
Panama's
Darién Province in
Central America and the northern portion of
Colombia's
Chocó Department in
South America. It measures just over long and about wide. Roadbuilding through this area is expensive, and the environmental cost is high. Political consensus in favor of road construction has not emerged. Consequently there is no road connection through the Darién Gap connecting North America with South America and it is the missing link of the Pan-American Highway.