Los Katíos National Natural Park () is a protected area located in northwest Colombia which covers about . The elevation ranges between . It is a part of the Darién Gap, a densely forested area shared by Panama and Colombia, and is contiguous with the Darién National Park in Panama. The Pan-American Highway, when completed as proposed, would pass near or through Los Katíos. The park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 due to the extraordinary diversity of plant and animal species represented. The topography of the Los Katios National Park is diverse, with low hills, forests and wet plains comprising its total area. The two largest parts of the park are the Serranía del Darién mountains, which lie to the west, and the Atrato River floodplains in the east. The floodplains hold exceptionally fertile soil and consist of alluvial plains of two types. One consists of low-lying terraces that flood often and the other has high terraces that seldom flood. There are also low hills of up to in elevation and others that are high. Swampy marshes spread for nearly half of the park's total area. The wetlands of the Atrato floodplain are unique. Cativo, one of the indigenous species, can grow to a height of . It lends its name to a formation called 'catival' and is found nowhere in the world except Colombia, south Central America and Jamaica. Significance Los Katíos National Park has exceptionally high biodiversity and (along with the adjacent Darien National Park in Panama), is a center of endemism, with many species that are restricted to the region. The park is home to at least 450 species of birds. In fact, over 25% of the bird species reported for Colombia in an area less than 1% of the total Colombian territory. Almost 20% of the plant species in the park are endemic to the Chocó-Darién moist forests. Due to its geographical location in northern Colombia on the southern edge of the Central American land bridge, this region served as a filter for the exchange of animal species between North and South America in the Tertiary and Pleistocene periods. This process continues today, and Los Katíos is the only region in South America where many Central American taxa are common, including yew species, the Giant anteater, and the Central American tapir. The park also protects important landscape features such as the 25