The population of Yaviza as of 1990 was 8,452, falling to 3,317 as recorded in the year 2000, and rising to 4,441 as of 2010.[1]
History
The town was founded by Spanish missionaries as San Jerónimo de Yaviza in September 1638.[3] A Spanish fort (Fuerte de San Geronimo de Yaviza) was built in 1760, and heavily damaged by an attack of the Indigenous Guna in 1780.[4] A flood destroyed half of the remaining ruins in the mid-20th century.[5]
Map of the Darién Gap and the break in the Pan-American Highway between Yaviza, Panama and Turbo, Colombia
As the Pan-American Highway was constructed, it eventually reached Yaviza as a dirt road. But plans to complete the road to Colombia were stopped, leaving Yaviza as the end point of the northern half of the highway.[6] The final sections of the highway to Yaviza have since been improved and are now paved.[7]
↑Howe, Ben Ryder (March 2001). The Forgotten Highway, The Atlantic ("The government, under pressure from the peasants, has announced that it will begin paving the road to Yaviza.")
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