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VA/TN/KY: Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

3 images Created 24 Mar 2011

In Virginia, visit Pinnacle Overlook (2440 feet elevation) in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, above Middlesboro, Kentucky and Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. From Pinnacle Overlook, see Tristate Peak where the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet, as resolved in 1803. The pass of Cumberland Gap (elevation 1600 feet / 488 meters) is famous in American history as the chief passageway through the central Appalachian Mountains and as an important part of the Wilderness Road. Long used by Native Americans, the path was widened by a team of loggers led by Daniel Boone, making it accessible to pioneers, who used it to journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee. The gap was formed by a southward flowing ancient creek which cut through tectonically uplifted mountains. As the land lifted, the creek reversed direction, flowing into the Cumberland River to the north.
Nearby, stop by Clinch Mountain Lookout, near Bean Station, Tennessee, to ogle Cherokee Lake, dammed by the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) on the Holston River in 1941.

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  • Pinnacle Overlook (2440 feet elevation) in Virginia, in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, rises 1400 feet above the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Tristate Peak rises to 1990 feet elevation on the middle right, where the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet, as resolved in 1803. On the far right is the pass of Cumberland Gap (elevation 1600 feet / 488 meters) in the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, famous in American history for its role as the chief passageway through the central Appalachians and as an important part of the Wilderness Road. Long used by Native Americans, the path was widened by a team of loggers led by Daniel Boone, making it accessible to pioneers, who used it to journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee. The gap was formed by an ancient creek, flowing southward, which cut through the land being pushed up to form the mountains. As the land rose even more, the creek reversed direction flowing into the Cumberland River to the north. Panorama stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    08VA-2058-2060pan_Cumberland-Gap-2.jpg
  • The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) dammed the Holston River in 1941 to form Cherokee Lake, as seen from Clinch Mountain Lookout, near Bean Station, Tennessee. Clinch Mountain is a ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains. It runs in a general east-northeasterly direction from near Blaine, Tennessee to Garden Mountain near Burke's Garden, Virginia. It separates the Clinch River basin, to the north, and the Holston River basin, to the south. Clinch Mountain is named after the Clinch River, named after an unknown pioneer.  Cherokee Reservoir is named for the tribe of Native Americans who once lived here. The great Indian warpath, once followed by Daniel Boone, crossed the basin now filled by the reservoir. Panorama stitched from 4 overlapping photos.
    08TN-2284-2287pan_Cherokee-Lake.jpg
  • Orange and yellow fall foliage colors brighten Cumberland Gap National Historic Park in early November, above the town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Tristate Peak rises to 1990 feet elevation on the upper left, where the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet, as resolved in 1803. Cumberland Gap (elevation 1600 feet / 488 meters) is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap.
    08VA-2056_Cumberland-Gap.jpg
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