Moccasin Gap
| Moccasin Gap | |
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Moccasin Gap
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| Elevation | 1,266 ft (386 m) |
| Traversed by |
 US 23 US 58 US 421Norfolk Southern Railway |
| Location |
 Virginia United States
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| Range | Clinch Mountain |
| Coordinates | 36°37′59″N 82°33′08″W / 36.6331557°N 82.5520975°WCoordinates: 36°37′59″N 82°33′08″W / 36.6331557°N 82.5520975°W |
| Topo map | USGS Gate City |
 The pass is located in the southeastern United States
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Moccasin Gap, also known as Big Moccasin Gap, is a pass in Clinch Mountain, a long ridge within the Appalachian Mountains, at Gate City, Virginia.
This gap has a long history as a passageway through the mountain. It was used by the Cherokee and Shawnee, and was the first gap through which the Daniel Boone Wilderness Road passed on its way to the better-known Cumberland Gap and Kentucky. Today it serves as a primary commercial route for industry, retail, and tourism businesses.
Moccasin Gap is the more dramatic of only two true, natural gaps in the Clinch Mountain ridge. It is located in the present day state of Virginia, in Scott County. It lies between two cities; Weber City is built into the south side of the gap and Gate City is to the northwest.
The area surrounding Moccasin Gap is sedimentary which is formed by the compaction of particles of gravel, sand, silt, mud, and carbonate minerals from the repetitive rise and fall of shallow seas, dating to the Cambrian or Pennsylvanian period. Moccasin Gap is a water gap that is currently traversed by a channel of water, Big Moccasin Creek which is a tributary to the North Fork Holston River.
The climate in Scott County is classified as continental or warm-to-temperate consisting of four seasons. Average temperatures reach 77 °F (25 °C) in the summer months and drop to 36.5 °F (2.5 °C) in the wintertime. The greatest mean of rainfall is also during these times while the least precipitation occurs in the fall.
The gap served as a vital route through the mountains for the Cherokee and Shawnee to claimed hunting grounds south of the Clinch River. Later it would also be utilized as an attacking point against settlers in the valleys, a strategy also adopted by military soldiers during both the Revolutionary and Civil wars.
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