> The continents of North America and South America meet in which region?And the answer is: Darién Gap.Located on the border of Panama and Colombia, the Darién Gap consists of verychallenging terrain, with mountains and a tropical rainforest. The world'slongest highway, the Pan-American Highway, stretches from Northern Alaska toArgentina, but the Darién Gap provides a 100 km gap in the road, due to theextremely rugged terrain.Image courtesy: Wikipedia.For centuries, the Darién Gap has wrecked havoc onexplorers, migrants, and every other traveler brave enough to tough some of themost extreme conditions known to man. The dense rainforest and shifting mudprevents the expansion of any road through the region, much less the expansivePan-American Highway, and the consequential gap creates the only separation inthe 12,000+ miles of road. Murky river paths remain the best option for travelin the rugged forest terrain. Photo credit: CNTraveler.com / Getty Images.Historically, any attempt to conquerthe wilds of the Darién Gap has lead to disaster. An attempt by Spanishcolonists to assume control of the region in 1510 lived for only 14 years, untilindigenous tribes torched the area and forced the settlers out. In the late1690s, the Kingdom of Scotland invested in a project called the "Darién scheme,"that set out to create a new colony called New Caledonia. Less than 10 yearsinto the mission, the Scots were overpowered by Spanish forces and illness, andthe colony was deserted. Today, large stretches of the Darién Gap are preserved as national forest andofficially considered to be a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thousands of migrantspass through the region every year, many traveling northward in search ofopportunity and respite from political turmoil. To learn more about the perilousjourney, check out the video below.