Moccasin Gap
, also known as
Big Moccasin Gap
, is a pass in
Clinch Mountain
, a long ridge within the
Appalachian Mountains
, at
Gate City
,
Virginia
.
This gap has a long history as a passageway through the mountain. It was used by the
Cherokee
and
Shawnee
, and was the first gap through which the
Daniel Boone
Wilderness Road
passed on its way to the better-known
Cumberland Gap
and
Kentucky
. Today it serves as a primary commercial route for industry, retail, and tourism businesses.
[2]
Geography
[
edit
]
Moccasin Gap is the more dramatic of only two true, natural gaps in the Clinch Mountain ridge. It is located in the present day state of Virginia, in
Scott County
. It lies between two cities;
Weber City
is built into the south side of the gap and Gate City is to the northwest.
[2]
The area surrounding Moccasin Gap is
sedimentary
which is formed by the compaction of particles of gravel, sand, silt, mud, and carbonate minerals from the repetitive rise and fall of shallow seas, dating to the
Cambrian
or
Pennsylvanian
period. Moccasin Gap is a
water gap
that is currently traversed by a channel of water,
Big Moccasin Creek
which is a tributary to the
North Fork Holston River
.
[2]
The climate in Scott County is classified as
continental
or warm-to-temperate consisting of four seasons. Average temperatures reach 77 °F (25 °C) in the summer months and drop to 36.5 °F (2.5 °C) in the wintertime. The greatest mean of rainfall is also during these times while the least precipitation occurs in the fall.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The gap served as a vital route through the mountains for the Cherokee and Shawnee to claimed hunting grounds south of the
Clinch River
. Later it would also be utilized as an attacking point against settlers in the valleys, a strategy also adopted by military soldiers during both the
Revolutionary
and
Civil
wars.
[3]
In 1775, Daniel Boone and thirty ax-men built the Indian path into a road, part of the Wilderness Road between the
Great Valley of Virginia
and the
Alleghenies
, on his quest to the
Kentucky River
. This section of the Wilderness Road extended north from the
Long Island of the Holston River
in
Tennessee
towards the well-known
Cumberland Gap
at the boundary of
Kentucky
,
Tennessee
, and
Virginia
.
[3]
The establishment of the Wilderness Road through the gap also brought pioneer settlers and tradesmen looking for passage to Kentucky and west. Scott County and the surrounding area praise the gap for its development as it became a significant route in commercial trade to the Ohio River Valley.
[4]
Moccasin gap is a level gap which made construction of the railway seamless.
[3]
In 1886 the Southern Railway began traversing the gap to connect the Appalachia and Holston Valley divisions.
[4]
In 2006 the
Virginia Department of Transportation
began construction to travel routes passing through the gap which included widening of
US 23
and involved excavating the gap.
[5]
This phase (1) of the project was completed in July 2008.
[6]
Phase 2 and 3 are currently still in progress and awaiting further funding. The plan to connect Route 72 to the bypass will remove a significant portion of the mountain in the gap, altering its natural profile.
[2]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Moccasin Gap"
.
Geographic Names Information System
.
United States Geological Survey
,
United States Department of the Interior
. Retrieved
July 31,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Scott County Planning Commission (May 2011),
Scott County, Virginia Comprehensive Plan: 2011
(PDF)
, retrieved
July 31,
2014
- ^
a
b
c
"Scott County"
.
Wilderness Road: Virginia's Heritage Migration Route
. Virginia.org
. Retrieved
July 31,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Addington, Robert (1992).
A History of Scott County Virginia
. United States of America: The Overmountain Press. pp. 39?42.
ISBN
978-0932807670
.
- ^
Waters, Brenda (June 6, 2006),
"Moccasin Gap Project: Background Information"
,
Virginia Department of Transportation
, retrieved
July 31,
2014
- ^
Earl, Michelle (July 3, 2008),
"VDOT Bristol's Highway Safety Challenge Traffic Alert: July 7-13, 2008"
(PDF)
,
Virginia Department of Transportation
, retrieved
July 31,
2014