# Theoretically, how far could somebody from the continental US drive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202 "2008-07-12T01:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/1 "2008-07-12T01:59:11Z")
Inspired by a couple of other driving threads and something I’ve wondered from time to time: What is the farthest someone could drive from the U.S.? Can you drive a regular car from the Continental U.S. to Tierra del Fuego, for instance? If not, where is the stopping point (Panama Canal maybe, or is there a bridge?). Is there any way to drive from the U.S. to Russia (allowing for ferries over the Bering of course)? If so, how far into Russia can you drive? Could you drive from Miami to Paris? I’m not talking about practicality of course- obviously it would cost 20 x more to drive into Russia than to fly or take a ship, but I’m just curious if there’s any time of year or any route where it “could” be done. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/2 "2008-07-12T02:15:50Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] (Panama Canal maybe, or is there a bridge?) [/QUOTE] Do you seriously think they went to all the trouble of building the canal, and neglected to provide a way to drive from one side to the other? And that oversight wasn’t corrected in all the years since? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/3 "2008-07-12T02:15:55Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Can you drive a regular car from the Continental U.S. to Tierra del Fuego, for instance? If not, where is the stopping point (Panama Canal maybe, or is there a bridge?). [/QUOTE] No. There are bridges across the Panama Canal, but the road towards South America ends a few hundred miles east of here at the town of Yaviza on the Tuira River. This is the famous “Darien Gap.” A few expeditions of four-wheel-drive cars have chopped, winched, and rafted their way across into Colombia, but a regular car can’t get past the Tuira. (Actually, the road usually requires four-wheel-drive a good way before that.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/4 "2008-07-12T02:18:02Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Do you seriously think they went to all the trouble of building the canal, and neglected to provide a way to drive from one side to the other? And that oversight wasn’t corrected in all the years since? [/QUOTE] [Moderating] This kind of post is really quite pointless in GQ, especially if your only purpose is to criticize another poster’s knowledge rather than provide actual information. Please refrain from this in the future. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/5 "2008-07-12T03:39:39Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] Do you seriously think they went to all the trouble of building the canal, and neglected to provide a way to drive from one side to the other? And that oversight wasn’t corrected in all the years since? [/QUOTE] There _are_ canals and waterways that _don’t_ have bridges or ferries that don’t allow automobiles. [QUOTE=Colibri] No. There are bridges across the Panama Canal, but the road towards South America ends a few hundred miles east of here at the town of Yaviza on the Tuira River. This is the famous “Darien Gap.” A few expeditions of four-wheel-drive cars have chopped, winched, and rafted their way across into Colombia, but a regular car can’t get past the Tuira. (Actually, the road usually requires four-wheel-drive a good way before that.) [/QUOTE] Thanks. Have there ever been any attempts to bridge or offer ferry service over the Tuira? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/6 "2008-07-12T03:57:28Z")
For a great read on the subject, try Tim Cahill’s [Road Fever](http://www.amazon.com/Road-Fever-Tim-Cahill/dp/0394758374/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215834919&sr=1-1) . > [@](#): > > Along with professional long-distance driver Garry Sowerby, Cahill drove 15,000 miles from the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego to the northernmost terminus of the Dalton Highway in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, from one end of the world to another, in a record-breaking 23 1/2 days. ETA: They took a boat around the Darien Gap. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/7 "2008-07-12T03:59:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Thanks. Have there ever been any attempts to bridge or offer ferry service over the Tuira? [/QUOTE] Not as far as I know. There are no towns of any significance beyond Yaviza, so there would be no point in building a bridge unless you were planning to build a road clear through to Colombia. (Actually, I erred in saying Yaviza is on the Tuira. It is on the Chucunaque, a tributary of the Tuira.) Transport in the Darien beyond Yaviza is almost exclusively along the rivers, by large motorized dugout canoes called piraguas. A few towns like El Real have a few short roads around them, but they don’t connect to anything. The last time I was in El Real, though, the number of automobiles had tripled. To three. Two of them even worked. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/8 "2008-07-12T04:34:49Z")
I would think that you could drive a substantial distance within the Continental United States. If you were to drive in some sort of spiral pattern, I suspect that you could rack up quite a few miles before having to cross your path or backtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/9 "2008-07-12T04:47:50Z")
If you allow for ferries, couldn’t you drive around the world? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/10 "2008-07-12T04:57:57Z")
[QUOTE=Bearflag70] If you allow for ferries, couldn’t you drive around the world? [/QUOTE] I would doubt it. Is there any ferry allowing to cross the Bering strait? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/11 "2008-07-12T05:03:13Z")
[http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0604/to\_the\_end\_of\_the\_world.html](http://www.gonomad.com/transports/0604/to_the_end_of_the_world.html) ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/12 "2008-07-12T05:32:39Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] Is there any ferry allowing to cross the Bering strait? [/QUOTE] No ferry, but you could always just [walk it](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/humber/4872348.stm). ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/13 "2008-07-12T10:48:32Z")
[QUOTE=Antonius Block] No ferry, but you could always just [walk it](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/humber/4872348.stm). [/QUOTE] Not as easy as it sounds – one of my cousins attempted it [in 2005](http://www.troyhenkels.com/page_news21.htm); the weather was rather un-cooperative, and they ended their quest after 8 days on the ice. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/14 "2008-07-12T13:22:33Z")
I asked this exact same question here many years ago. I will see if I can find the thread because it got lots of good answers although people already said most of the main points in this thread. The gap from North to South America and the Bering Strait are the big problems. Also, the Russian side of the Bering Strait is barren for a very long way and there isn’t any good road network for at least hundreds of miles. As noted, you can walk over most of the world in an unbroken path and a person is doing it right now in stages. The route includes South America, North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa and the hike is something like 36,000 miles. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/15 "2008-07-12T14:51:04Z")
I seem to recall there used to be an auto ferry from Panama City to Buenaventura, Columbia (on the Pacific coast) and another ferry from Colon to Cartagena (on the Caribbean coast). It looks like both those have closed down if they ever existed outside my imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/16 "2008-07-12T15:36:31Z")
On a related note, I recall once hearing that there are no roads that span Russia - that it’s impossible to drive from Russia’s Pacific coast to its western border without leaving the country. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/17 "2008-07-12T18:02:39Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] No. There are bridges across the Panama Canal, but the road towards South America ends a few hundred miles east of here at the town of Yaviza on the Tuira River. This is the famous “Darien Gap.” A few expeditions of four-wheel-drive cars have chopped, winched, and rafted their way across into Colombia, but a regular car can’t get past the Tuira. (Actually, the road usually requires four-wheel-drive a good way before that.) [/QUOTE] And isn’t crossing the Darien Gap as dangerous as living sin? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/18 "2008-07-12T19:41:10Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] I would doubt it. Is there any ferry allowing to cross the Bering strait? [/QUOTE] It would require more than building a ferry. You can’t even drive to the Bering Strait; the closest road in Alaska that is contiguous with the roads in the rest of the continent is about 400 miles, as the crow flies. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/19 "2008-07-12T22:56:30Z")
If you want to read a good book about the Darien Gap, try [The Darkest Jungle](http://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Jungle-Expedition-Americas-Ill-Fated/dp/0609609890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215903311&sr=8-1), which will give you a damn good idea as to why there is no road through there. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/20 "2008-07-12T22:59:10Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] I would doubt it. Is there any ferry allowing to cross the Bering strait? [/QUOTE] Ferry service would be economically impossible and physically treacherous. The weather there is horrendous even during those times of year when it’s not icebound. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202.md?page=2)