Potomac Water Gap
Encyclopedia
The Potomac Water Gap is a double water gap
in the Blue Ridge Mountains
, located at the intersection of the states of Virginia
, West Virginia
and Maryland
, near Harpers Ferry
. At 256 feet (78 m), it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
approaches the Blue Ridge on the eastern edge of the Shenandoah Valley
, the river turns to the south paralleling the ridge to Bolivar, West Virginia
, where it then cuts east, past Harpers Ferry to its confluence with the Shenandoah River
at the western edge of the first gap between Blue Ridge Mountain
to the south in Virginia and West Virginia and Elk Ridge Mountain
to the north in Maryland. The River continues east for 4 miles (6.4 km), passing through the White Horse Rapids, before reaching the second gap between the Short Hill Mountain
to the south in Virginia and South Mountain
to the north in Maryland.
U.S. Route 340
and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
both pass through the Potomac Water Gap. Historically, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
passed through the gap as well.
came to the town he remarked, while viewing the gap from a ridge above the town, that "the view was worth a trip across the Atlantic." In 1859, Robert E. Lee
, leading a detachment of Marines, passed through the gap on route to Harpers Ferry to put down John Brown's
raid. During the American Civil War
, the gap was used frequently by both Confederate
and Union Armies
to pass through the mountains and was the scene of fighting at the Battle of Harpers Ferry
. Today, like the town, the gap, in addition to a thoroughfare, is a tourist destination. It is part of two national parks, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
, and the scenic Appalachian Trail
passes through it as well.
Water gap
A water gap is an opening or notch which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. Water gaps often offer a practical route for road and rail transport to cross mountain ridges.- Geology :...
in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
, located at the intersection of the states of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, near Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
. At 256 feet (78 m), it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Geography
As the Potomac RiverPotomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
approaches the Blue Ridge on the eastern edge of the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
, the river turns to the south paralleling the ridge to Bolivar, West Virginia
Bolivar, West Virginia
Bolivar is a town in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The population was 1,045 at the 2000 census. Originally known as Mudfort, Bolivar was granted a charter as a town by the Virginia General Assembly in December 1825...
, where it then cuts east, past Harpers Ferry to its confluence with the Shenandoah River
Shenandoah River
The Shenandoah River is a tributary of the Potomac River, long with two forks approximately long each, in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia...
at the western edge of the first gap between Blue Ridge Mountain
Blue Ridge Mountain
Blue Ridge Mountain, also known as Blue Mountain, is the colloquial name of the western most ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia...
to the south in Virginia and West Virginia and Elk Ridge Mountain
Elk Ridge (Maryland)
Elk Ridge is a mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Maryland. The ridge is located to the west of South Mountain and runs roughly parallel to it from Rohrersville, in the north, to the Potomac River across from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in the south. Across the Potomac the ridge...
to the north in Maryland. The River continues east for 4 miles (6.4 km), passing through the White Horse Rapids, before reaching the second gap between the Short Hill Mountain
Short Hill Mountain
Short Hill Mountain is a mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest Loudoun County, Virginia.- Geography :Short Hill rises sharply from the Piedmont countryside of the Loudoun Valley, northwest of Purcellville, as a low-lying ridge barely over above the surrounding area...
to the south in Virginia and South Mountain
South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)
South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Mountain range in Maryland and Pennsylvania. From the Potomac River near Knoxville, Maryland in the south, to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania in the north, the long range separates the Hagerstown and Cumberland valleys from the Piedmont regions of...
to the north in Maryland.
U.S. Route 340
U.S. Route 340
U.S. Route 340 is a spur of US 40. It currently runs for from Greenville, Virginia at US 11 to Frederick, Maryland at US 40. Between those two states, US 340 also passes briefly through West Virginia. In Virginia and West Virginia, it is signed north–south...
and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
both pass through the Potomac Water Gap. Historically, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
passed through the gap as well.
History
The history of the gap is inexorably tied to that of Harpers Ferry and the surrounding area. When Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
came to the town he remarked, while viewing the gap from a ridge above the town, that "the view was worth a trip across the Atlantic." In 1859, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, leading a detachment of Marines, passed through the gap on route to Harpers Ferry to put down John Brown's
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
raid. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the gap was used frequently by both Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
and Union Armies
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
to pass through the mountains and was the scene of fighting at the Battle of Harpers Ferry
Battle of Harpers Ferry
The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his army under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...
. Today, like the town, the gap, in addition to a thoroughfare, is a tourist destination. It is part of two national parks, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in and around Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The park includes land in Jefferson County, West Virginia; Washington County, Maryland and Loudoun County, Virginia. The park is managed by the...
and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in the District of Columbia and the states of Maryland and West Virginia. The park was established as a National Monument in 1961 by President Dwight D...
, and the scenic Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
passes through it as well.