A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps . Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a practical route for road and rail transport to cross the mountain barrier.
3-761: Hillsboro Gap , also known as the Gap in the Short Hill is a water gap in the Short Hill Mountain formed by the North Fork of the Catoctin Creek in Loudoun County, Virginia . The gap derives its name from the town of Hillsboro , which is nestled in the gap. Virginia State Route 9 passes through the gap in the town. In colonial times the main road between Alexandria and Winchester , Vestal's Gap Road, passed through
6-445: A rift in a portion of the crust of the earth having a very low stream gradient and a thick layer of unconsolidated sediment . In a hypothetical example, a river would have established its channel without regard for the deeper layers of rock . A later period of uplift would cause increased erosion along the riverbed, exposing the underlying rock layers. As the uplift continued, the river, being large enough, would continue to erode
9-467: The gap. That road eventually became the Charles Town Pike and modern day Route 9. The gap poses a barrier to any widening of Route 9 as the historic town completely fills the gap. Water gap A water gap is usually an indication of a river that is older than the current topography. The likely occurrence is that a river established its course when the landform was at a low elevation, or by
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