Pan-American Highway

Road linking the USA with Central and South America; length 25,300 km/15,700 mi. Starting from the US-Canadian frontier (where it links with the Alaska Highway), it runs through San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Mexico City to Panamá, then down the west side of South America to Valparaiso, Chile, where it crosses the Andes and goes to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The road was first planned in 1923, and work began in 1928. Completion of the final section, across the Darien Gap in Panama, will lead to a major ecological transformation of the region.