Route

route is a prototype area in Pikmin that was left in the disc. This map bears many similarities to The Impact Site.

Gameplay footage
This area seems to be an early version of The Impact Site. There are only some differences; the textures are a little broken on the walls and slopes. Seeing as how the final The Impact Site is identified in the game as "practice," there are some theories that it was used as a tutorial level, and that this "route" map was going to be the final The Impact Site, as a regular area. It's so similar, in fact, that by replacing The Impact Site's files with route's, as shown in the video, the Pikmin carry objects following the correct paths.

Geography
This map resembles The Impact Site, but without the area containing the Pearly Clamclamps in the final. The stump containing three 10 pellets, the two stump-slides and the large stump are present, but they are not hollow nor do they have any slides, entrance, or ramp, and are impossible to get into or onto. Many of the textures are projected from above, causing many of the wall textures (mostly only the rocks and the stumps) to look clamped and jarring to the environment. In the location where the large rock would be located in The Impact Site, is instead a larger, lighter rock with a small ramp leading up to mostly nothing. The area that resembles the location that holds the Main Engine in the final game does not have any stone ramp leading up to the large stump and is rather large compared to the landing area.

The three landing circles are instead three grass circles with a slightly skewed rim, instead of a complex design in the final The Impact Site. The scorch mark created and landed on by the SS Dolphin is not present.

Trivia

 * route is the only unused area which isn't located in the "test" folder.