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The Darién Gap ((スペイン語:Región del Darién ''or'' Tapón del Darién)) is a break in the Pan-American Highway consisting of a large swathe 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. The geography of the Darién Gap on the Colombian side is dominated primarily by the river delta of the Atrato River, which creates a flat marshland at least wide, half of this being swampland. The Serranía del Baudó occupy Colombia's Pacific coast and extend into Panama. The Panamanian side, in sharp contrast, is a mountainous rainforest, with terrain reaching from in the valley floors to at the tallest peak (Cerro Tacarcuna). ==Pan-American Highway== (詳細はTurbo, Colombia near . On the Panamanian side, the road terminus is the town of Yaviza at . This marks a straight-line separation of about . In between is marshland and forest. Efforts have been made for decades to remedy this missing link in the Pan-American highway. Planning began in 1971 with the help of United States funding, but this was halted in 1974 after concerns raised by environmentalists. Another effort to build the road began in 1992, but by 1994 a United Nations agency reported that the road, and the subsequent development, would cause extensive environmental damage. Cited reasons include evidence that the Darién Gap has prevented the spread of diseased cattle into Central and North America, which have not seen foot-and-mouth disease since 1954, and since at least the 1970s this has been a substantial factor in preventing a road link through the Darién Gap.〔(U.S. GAO - Transportation: Construction Progress and Problems of the Darien Gap Highway )〕〔(Press Releases 2011 | Embassy of the United States Panama )〕 The Embera-Wounaan and Kuna have also expressed concern that the road would bring about the potential erosion of their cultures. Many people, groups, indigenous populations, and governments are opposed to completing the Darién portion of the highway. Reasons for opposition include protecting the rain forest, containing the spread of tropical diseases, protecting the livelihood of indigenous peoples in the area, preventing drug trafficking and its associated violence, and preventing foot-and-mouth disease from entering North America. The extension of the highway as far as Yaviza resulted in severe deforestation alongside the highway route within a decade. One option proposed, in a study by Bio-Pacifico, is a short ferry link from Colombia to a new ferry port in Panama, with an extension of the existing Panama highway that would complete the highway without violating these environmental concerns. Another idea is to use a combination bridges and tunnels to avoid the environmentally sensitive regions.〔http://www.futuristspeaker.com/2014/12/the-coming-era-of-mega-systems-part-1-transportation/ The Coming Era of Mega Systems, Part 1 – Transportation〕 The Everglades Skyway is an example of an environmentally conscious bridge being developed over the Florida Everglades in order to avoid the environmental impact of a conventional roadway. The gap has been crossed by adventurers on bicycle, motorbike, all-terrain vehicle, and foot, dealing with jungle, swamp, insects, and other hazards. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Darién Gap」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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