User:Brendan.Hunstad/draft on Cumberland Gap
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This page is about a mountain pass in the United States. For other uses, see Brendan.Hunstad/draft on Cumberland Gap (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Cumberland Narrows, a water gap in the Appalachian Mountains near Cumberland, Maryland or the water gap at Pineville, Kentucky through which the Cumberland River flows.
Cumberland Gap is a narrow opening through the Cumberland Mountains, a long ridge within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.
Quick Facts Cumberland Gap, Elevation ...
Cumberland Gap | |
---|---|
![]() Cumberland Gap in winter | |
Elevation | 1,631 ft (497 m)[1] |
Traversed by | ![]() |
Location | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Range | Cumberland Mountains |
Coordinates | 36°36′14″N 83°40′23″W |
Topo map | USGS Middlesboro South |
Close
Famous in American colonial history for its role as a key passageway through the lower central Appalachians, it was an important part of the Wilderness Road and is now part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
Long used by Native Americans, the Cumberland Gap was brought to the attention of settlers in 1750 by Dr. Thomas Walker, a Virginia physician and explorer. The path was explored by a team of frontiersmen led by Daniel Boone, making it accessible to pioneers who used it to journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee.