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The Pan-American Highway system is mostly complete and extends from Alaska in North America to Chile in South America. The notable stretch that keeps the highway from being completely connected is a section of land between the Panama Canal in Panama and northwest Colombia called the Darién Gap, which is a 54 mile (87 km) stretch of harsh, mountainous jungle. Many are opposed to completing the Darién portion of the highway, with reasons as varied as the desire to protect the rain forest, containing the spread of tropical diseases, protecting the livelihood of indigenous peoples in the area, preventing foot and mouth disease from entering North America, and creating a buffer for potential drug-trafficking from Colombia.

The Pan-American Highway passes through many diverse climates and ecological types, from dense jungles to cold mountain passes. Since the highway passes through many countries, it is far from uniform. Some stretches of the highway are passable only during the dry season, and in many regions driving is occasionally hazardous.

Famous sections of the Pan-American Highway include the Alaska Highway and the Inter-American Highway . The Inter-American Highway is the section between the United States and the Panama Canal, and is quite popular among US tourists driving to Mexico. Altogether, the Pan-American Highway travels through the following 15 countries:

• United States
  • Alaska
  • WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It should not be confused with Washington, DC, the nation's capital. To avoid confusion, the state is often called Washington state . Although the state capital is Olympia, the largest c
  • OregonOregon is a state located in the western United States bordering the Pacific Ocean, California, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Its northern border lies along the Columbia River and the east along the Snake River. Two north-south mountain ranges the Coasta
  • CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located in the western United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. The most populous and third largest state in the U. California is both physically and demographically diverse. The state's official nickname is "The Golden State", wh
  • ArizonaArizona was the 48th state admitted to the United States and is part of the Southwest United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, south and east of the Colorado River, bordering New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California and Mexico. Its major cities ar
• CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe
  • Yukon Territory
  • British ColumbiaBritish Columbia or simply B. French: la Colombie-Britannique is the westernmost of Canada's provinces. It was the sixth province to join the confederation of Canada (in 1871). As of 2004, the population was 4,168,123 British Columbians . Geography Its ca
• Mexico
  • Sonora
  • Sinaloa
  • Durango
  • Coahuila
  • Nuevo León
  • Tamaulipas
  • San Luis Potosí
  • Hidalgo
  • México
  • Distrito Federal
  • Morelos
  • Puebla
  • Oaxaca
  • Chiapas
• Guatemala
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Costa Rica
• Panama
• Venezuela
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Peru
• Chile
• Argentina

See also Pan-American Highway (route)