When the most recent plate collision occurred, those pliable rock layers were folded, and in some places cracked, creating the beautiful landscape we see today. The pressure and heat resulting from the impact transformed the core of the mountains into dense, sturdy metamorphic rock. As the North American plate buckled under the immense pressure generated by tectonic forces, the Appalachian Mountains rose slowly. It is argued that as the uplift occurred an existing river cut the gap into its present shape.
There is new theory that offers an explanation for the formation of the Cumberland Gap. Barry Vann, who is a historical geographer at Lincoln Memorial University, agrees that running water played a role in shaping the gap, but he thinks a violent impact removed the bulk of the soil and rocky material that once filled the void in Cumberland Mountain. There is little debate among scholars that the bowl-shaped depressed area located to the northwest of the gap was created by a meteorite impact.
The city of Middlesboro, Kentucky, sits in the crater today. Vann argues that the expulsion of debris during the meteorite impact blew out part of the Cumberland Mountain leaving the gap in its wake. In addition to its interesting geological history, the Cumberland Gap area is a visually striking place.
It is also one of the most significant places in American migration history. Early pioneers could have crossed Cumberland Mountain at Pennington Gap in Virginia, but because Pine Mountain did not offer a low place to traverse it near that location, settlers were forced to travel 40 miles on to the Cumberland Gap where an old, well-worn path stretched northward through a pass in Pine Mountain some fourteen miles away. The next section tells us how and why the old path was formed.
Before hunters and gatherers from Asia came into North America during the Pleistocene some 10, to 40, years ago, wooly mammoths and other animals that would become extinct lived in the region and traveled to and fro through the Gap, leaving a well-marked trail. Bison, black bears, beavers, deer and elk made good use of the regional flora and were plentiful when the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Europeans first came to the area. The Cherokee came to southern Appalachia western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia from the northeast where other tribes spoke similar Iroquoian languages.
They came to the region in the middle of the fifteenth century and established a capitol at Chota in Monroe County, Tennessee. Like the Cherokee, the Shawnee built small towns on river banks and were good at farming low-lying, fertile fields. This region, like its subsequent state name, was Kentucky.
Over time, the two nations came to use Kentucky primarily as a hunting ground. Most of the Shawnee who had an interest in Kentucky lived in towns located near the Ohio River in the north. The east entrance is in Tennessee, and the west entrance is in Kentucky. Although the Gap exists at the intersection of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia, the tunnel itself just misses the state of Virginia by 1, feet. This four-lane tunnel is an asset to transportation throughout the region.
Providing a direct link between the town of Middlesboro, Kentucky, and Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, the tunnel replaces a two-mile section of the U. Route 25E. This highway has seen many deaths, and Kentucky officials say the Cumberland Gap Tunnel is safer for motorists, eliminating much of the hazard.
The Cumberland Gap National Historic Park extends for 20 miles and ranges between one and four miles in width. It is over 20, acres, 14, of which remain wilderness. Regional flora and fauna include nearly 60 rare plant species, an abundance of kudzu, wild turkey, and black bear, among an assortment of others. Featuring historic buildings and caves, the park offers visitors a glimpse of what helped shape the nation.
They can trace the experiences of early explorers through hiking trails, scenic vistas, guided tours, and cave expeditions. Cradled at the foot of the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Cumberland Gap is known for its historic charm. Visitors can enjoy a view of the town and tri-state area from 1, feet at a nearby mountain peak called Pinnacle Overlook.
The town is quaint, and has merely three humble lodging establishments. There are unique craft and antique shops, restoring the spirit of colonial America. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Martin intended this outpost to serve as a supply station.
He had arrived there in late March ahead of a rival party in a contest to settle first in Powell Valley. They competed for 21, acres from Dr. Thomas Walker and the Loyal Land Company. It was Dr. Walker who in first brought word back east of Cave Gap, an easy passage through the mountains.
The passage is an ancient water gap pushed upward over eons with a towering rockface on the north side. The path through that passage had been trod for millennia by herds of seasonally migrating bison and deer.
It was a route followed by Shawnee, Cherokee, and Yuchi as well as unnamed ancient native peoples who traversed the land for thousands of years. Caution is advised. This overlook has no railing or safety fences. The explorers walked up a promontory and from there on June 7, , first saw the beautiful expanse of the bluegrass region of Kentucky stretching before them.
The men immediately set about the business of hunting deer and preparing hides. They set up a base camp from which they ventured out in pairs to explore and to hunt. They set up satellite camps for processing deer skins, graining them and packing the prepared hides into bundles of about 40 skins, each bundle weighing close to pounds.
A pack horse could carry only two such bundles on the long trek home. They were led by Will Emery, a mixed-blood Cherokee by some accounts. Neither the Shawnee nor the Cherokee lived on the Kentucky lands.
This was their hunting land—their store house—where undisturbed nature provided its bounty for them to hunt and kill as they needed food. They forced Boone and Stuart to take them to each of their station outposts in succession. Boone did so slowly and while making as much noise as possible, hoping to alert his companions at the other camps to remove the bundles of hides.
So, Boone was doubly disappointed to discover at the base camp that his companions had run off and had left all the skins behind. Captain Will confiscated all the hides. He also gave them two pairs of moccasins each and told them to leave. When Dr. Walker admired the man.
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