Wind gap

Wind gap opened by an ancient stream on a Karstic terrain in the Ciudad Encantada (Cuenca province) in Spain

Glacially-carved wind gap in Karu Valley, Ladakh, NW Indian Himalaya

Wind gap Rockfish Gap, Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

A wind gap is a gap through which a waterway once flowed that is now dry as a result of stream capture.^[1] A water gap is a similar feature, but one in which a waterway still flows. Water gaps and wind gaps often provide routes which, due to their gently inclined profile, are suitable for trails, roads, and railroads through mountainous terrain.

Examples of wind gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia include Swift Run Gap, Rockfish Gap, and Buford's Gap. The last was the original crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Bedford for the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, later the Norfolk and Western Railway, a precursor of today's Norfolk Southern Railway system.

References

↑ Digital Atlas of Idaho - Glossary of Natural History Terms

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wind gap images.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.