Keyes Gap
Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.
| Keyes Gap | |
|---|---|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 526: Unable to find the specified location map definition: "Module:Location map/data/Virginia" does not exist. | |
| Script error: No such module "Infobox mapframe". | |
| Elevation | 906 ft (276 m)[1] |
| Traversed by | Template:Jct/Template:Jct |
| Location | Loudoun County, Virginia / Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States |
| Range | Blue Ridge Mountains Appalachian Mountains |
| Coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.[2] |
Keyes Gap or Keyes' Gap is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain on the border of Loudoun County, Virginia and Jefferson County, West Virginia. The gap is traversed by Virginia State Route 9/West Virginia Route 9. The Appalachian Trail also crosses the gap.
History
Originally known as Vestal's Gap, the 906 feet (276 m) gap is one of the lowest crossings of the Blue Ridge in Virginia. During the colonial period the main road between Alexandria and Winchester ran through the gap. As such, part of General Edward Braddock's army under George Washington crossed through the gap on their way to Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War.
By 1820, the main route west became the newly completed Snickers Gap Turnpike which crossed the Blue Ridge to the south at Snickers Gap, and Keyes Gap lost its prominence. Despite this, Keyes Gap was still of strategic importance during the American Civil War, as it provided an alternate "back route" from Virginia to the key point of Harpers Ferry.
See also
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The National Map: Elevation". usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ GNIS
Page Module:Side box/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Sister project/styles.css has no content.
