what is the significance of the cumberland gap
Cumberland Gap Famous in American colonial history for its role as a key passageway through the lower central Appalachians, it was an important part of the Wilderness Road and is now part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
Interstate 40 in Tennessee I-40 remains relatively flat and straight as it continues across the Cumberland Plateau and passes through the northern part of Crossville. East of Crossville, the Crab Orchard Mountains, the southern fringe of the Cumberland Mountains, come into view as the road descends several hundred feet. At mile 329, the interstate enters Crab Orchard Gap and proceeds through a narrow valley once prone to rockslides. At mile 340, the Interstate crosses into Roane County entering the Eastern Time Zone, and shortly thereafter the road begins its descent of the Cumberland Plateau into the Tennessee Valley. I-40 hugs the slopes of the plateau's Walden Ridge escarpment for several miles, containing what some describe as dramatic views of the Tennessee Valley below to the south, before reaching the base of the plateau at mile 347 between Harriman and Rockwood. As it enters the Ridge-and-Valley province of the Appalachians, of which the Tennessee Valley is a part, I-40 crosses a series of ridges and valleys characteristic of the region's topography. At mile 351, the road crosses the Clinch River, with the Kingston Fossil Plant and its 1,000-foot (300Â m) twin smokestacks dominating the view to the north.