Lehigh Gap

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Lehigh Gap
Lehigh Gap Shawangunk Formation 2.jpg
Shawangunk Formation at Lehigh Gap, October 2008
Coordinates: 40°46′36″N75°36′30″W / 40.77667°N 75.60833°W / 40.77667; -75.60833
Region Lehigh Valley
State Pennsylvania
Country United States

The Lehigh Gap or Lehigh Water Gap is a water gap located in the townships of Lehigh, Washington, Lower Towamensing, and East Penn in the Lehigh Valley and Coal Region regions of eastern Pennsylvania. It was formed by the Lehigh River, where it cuts through the Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania.

Contents

The gap allows easy travel between Carbon County to the north and Lehigh and Northampton counties to the south of the mountain. One of the gap's more distinctive features is Devil's Pulpit, a rock formation that reminds hikers of a church pulpit.

Lehigh Gap is also the name of a village once known as Weider's Crossing at the south end of the gap in Lehigh and Northampton Counties.

Travel

Aerial view of Lehigh Gap in Pennsylvania, including Lower Towamensing and East Penn Township in Carbon County, Washington Township in Lehigh County, and Lehigh Township in Northampton County 2022-09-09 17 25 22 UTC minus 4 Aerial view centered on the Lehigh Gap at the border of Lower Towamensing and East Penn townships in Carbon County, Washington Township in Lehigh County and Lehigh Township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania.jpg
Aerial view of Lehigh Gap in Pennsylvania, including Lower Towamensing and East Penn Township in Carbon County, Washington Township in Lehigh County, and Lehigh Township in Northampton County

PA Route 248 runs directly through the gap, connecting the two Lehigh Valley cities Allentown and Bethlehem to the smaller Carbon County boroughs of Palmerton, Bowmanstown and Lehighton. PA Routes 873 and 145 connect to PA Route 248 just south of the gap.

Besides vehicular travel, the gap also provides a crossing through the mountain for hikers on the Appalachian Trail. Appalachian Thru-hikers call this Dante's inferno because it is a very exposed rock scramble. The Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Corridor Trail also intersects Lehigh Gap.

Rail transport

Railroads

Four railroad companies once had trackage (owned or leased) through the Lehigh Gap. The Lehigh and New England Railroad used to have a bridge crossing the Lehigh River within the gap. The bridge was abandoned in 1961 and torn down in 1967, but its foundations on each side of the river are still visible as are telegraph poles.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad had its mainline, the Lehigh Line, on the south side of the Lehigh River. The Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad's mainline was on the north side of the Lehigh River; the Lehigh and Susquehanna was leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey and labeled the operations of the lease as the "Lehigh and Susquehanna Division".

Lehigh Line

Today the Lehigh Valley Railroad's mainline, the Lehigh Line, runs on the north side of the Lehigh River rather than on the south side, as the majority of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad's mainline became part of the Lehigh Line. The Lehigh Line's absorption of the majority of the Lehigh and Susquhanna mainline caused some original trackage to break away from the Lehigh Line and became separate rail lines now operating as branch lines, including the Lehigh Line's former trackage on the south side of the Lehigh River. The Lehigh Line's original Lehigh Gap trackage which was on the south side and now operating as a separate rail line on its own was later abandoned and was removed by Conrail in 1984.

With the Lehigh Line being the surviving rail line even though it now runs on the north side via the former Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad mainline trackage it got, the Lehigh Line is now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway (chartered in 1894 as the Southern Railway and is owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation) and Canadian Pacific Railway (owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited) has trackage rights on the Lehigh Line so that it can reach the major cities Philadelphia and New York City.

Lehigh Gap Nature Center

Lehigh Gap Nature Center in Slatington, Pennsylvania, October 2015 Lehigh Gap Nature Center (Revisited) (2) (22321879289).jpg
Lehigh Gap Nature Center in Slatington, Pennsylvania, October 2015

In 2002, the Wildlife Information Center, since renamed Lehigh Gap Nature Center, [1] purchased more than 750 acres (3.0 km2) near Lehigh Gap. Their goal is to restore the wildlife along the Kittatinny Ridge. From 1898 to 1980, the New Jersey Zinc Company emitted sulfur dioxide at rates of up to 3,600 pounds per hour, killing plant life and animal habitats. Twenty years later, a noticeable lack of tree density remains on the Palmerton side of the gap. [2]

The Lehigh Gap Nature Center currently includes The Osprey House on the Slatington side of the river. The nature center works closely with colleges and universities on various wildlife-oriented research projects. The center also offers several clubs for young naturalists. The nature center is home to approximately 15 miles of hiking trails, open to the public from dawn to dusk.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad</span> Former U.S. Class 1 railroad

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of 395 miles (636 km). Incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853 primarily for the purpose of providing a connection between the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and the large markets for coal in New York City. The railroad gradually expanded both East and West, eventually linking Buffalo with New York City.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846, for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, wares, merchandise, and minerals in Pennsylvania and the railroad was incorporated and established on September 20, 1847, as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Jersey City, New Jersey-area railroads</span>

For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater, South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east of Newark are listed here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware and Hudson Railway</span> Railroad in the northeastern United States

The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operated D&H under its subsidiary Soo Line Corporation which also operates Soo Line Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh and Hudson River Railway</span>

The Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (L&HR) was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast–southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Bridge at Maybrook, New York with Easton, Pennsylvania, where it interchanged with various other companies.

The Warren Railroad was a railroad in Warren County, New Jersey, that served as part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's mainline from 1856 to 1911.

The Lehigh and New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety after the New York, Ontario and Western Railway. It was headquartered in Philadelphia.

The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad was a railroad running along the eastern shore of the Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey north via Phillipsburg, New Jersey to the small village of Manunka Chunk, New Jersey. It became an important feeder line for the Lehigh Valley Railroad's join to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which was constructed into Phillipsburg, NJ at about the same time. This connected Philadelphia and Trenton, NJ at one end of the shortline railroad to the rapidly growing lower Wyoming Valley region, and via the Morris Canal or the CNJ, a slow or fast connection to New York City ferries crossing New York Harbor from Jersey City, NJ. In 1871 the CNJ leased various railroads in Pennsylvania, most from the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company allowing the CNJ to penetrate to the upper Wyoming Valley, over some stretches, competing directly with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and with the Lehigh Canal and the trunk road connection of the Belvidere Delaware Railroad to New York became less profitable since Philadelphia connected more easily to Northeastern Pennsylvania thereafter without needing a double-crossing of the Delaware River; a general revenue decline ensued, leading to the Pennsylvania Railroad acquiring the rights, where it served as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system, carrying mainly anthracite coal and iron ore from northeastern Pennsylvania to population centers along the coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finger Lakes Railway</span>

The Finger Lakes Railway is a Class III railroad in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The company began operations on July 23, 1995, and operates in Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, Schuyler and Yates counties. The FGLK operates 18 diesel locomotives on 167 miles (269 km) of ex-Conrail trackage, formerly owned by the New York Central Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Between 2001 and 2013, the railroad operated a heritage railroad known as the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway which offered passenger train excursions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Bridge Branch</span>

The High Bridge Branch is a branch line that was operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ). As built, the branch started in High Bridge, New Jersey at a connection with the CNJ main line and continued north to iron-ore mines in Morris County. The High Bridge Branch line followed the South Branch of the Raritan River for much of its duration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad</span> Class II railroad in eastern Pennsylvania

The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on 400 miles (640 km) of track. Its mainline consists of the Reading Division between Reading and Packerton and the Lehigh Division between Lehighton and Dupont. Its main freight cargo is anthracite coal.

The Allentown Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1853 with the original intention to connect the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Allentown with the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line across the Allegheny Mountains. Though grading was almost entirely finished, the project was halted by the Panic of 1857, and the completion of the East Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859 made the Allentown Railroad's proposed line largely redundant. As a result, track was never laid on most of the line. The small portion that did became the Allentown branch of the Reading Company from Topton to Kutztown, and was nominally owned by the Allentown Railroad until the Reading dissolved it in 1945 to simplify corporate bookkeeping. Other Reading subsidiaries also laid track on parts of the right-of-way elsewhere along the route. The short line Allentown & Auburn Railroad continues to operate freight service on the Topton to Kutztown route.

The Lehigh Division is a major freight low grade rail line owned and operated by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that runs from Lehighton, Pennsylvania to Dupont, Pennsylvania; it originally ran from Lehighton to Mehoopany, Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Division was formed in 1993 by Conrail from the Lehigh Line, officially the former main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) that has absorbed former Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) main line trackage and former Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad (L&S) main line trackage into its system under Conrail; the Lehigh Line today is owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway and connects to the Lehigh Division at Lehighton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Gorge State Park</span>

Lehigh Gorge State Park is a 4,548 acres (1,841 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Luzerne and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania. The park encompasses a gorge, which stretches along the Lehigh River from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control dam in Luzerne County to Jim Thorpe in Carbon County. The primary recreational activity at Lehigh Gorge State Park is white water rafting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Gorge Trail</span>

The Lehigh Gorge Trail is a 26-mile (42 km) multi-use rail trail that winds along the valley of the Lehigh River Gorge from White Haven, to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Much of the trail runs through the Lehigh Gorge State Park, and was originally developed into a railroad corridor after an extension of the Lehigh Canal was first built under the great push of Main Line of Public Works to connect the Delaware Valley to Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor</span> United States National Heritage Area in Pennsylvania

The Delaware & Lehigh Canal National and State Heritage Corridor (D&L) is a 165-mile (266 km) National Heritage Area in eastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It stretches from north to south, across five counties and over one hundred municipalities. It follows the historic routes of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Lehigh Navigation, Lehigh Canal, and the Delaware Canal, from Bristol northeast of Philadelphia to Wilkes-Barre in the northeastern part of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Line (Norfolk Southern)</span> Railroad line in central New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania

The Lehigh Line is a railroad line in Central New Jersey, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The line runs west from the vicinity of the Port of New York and New Jersey in Manville, New Jersey via Conrail's Lehigh Line to the southern end of Wyoming Valley's Coal Region in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauch Chunk Mountain</span>

Mauch Chunk Ridge or Mauch Chunk Mountain is a historically important barrier ridgeline north of the Blue Mountain escarpment and 3rd parallel ridgeline south of the Nesquehoning Creek after Nesquehoning Mountain and Pisgah Ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The three lengthy ridges and two valley formations together are literally the first ridges and valleys just south of the Poconos on the opposite side of the Lehigh River—geological formations which contain some of the richest Anthracite coal bearing sedimentary rocks of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Historically, the first Anthracite mines in America were located atop Pisgah Mountain at Summit Hill and caravanned by pack mule through the Mauch Chunk Creek valley. Then the historic Mauch Chunk and Summit Hill Switchback Railroad, the second railway in North America was built along the Pisgah Mountain side of the same valley—and become quite a tourist attraction and is known as the world's first roller coaster, and would inspire others in purpose built amusement parks. The Mauch Chunk and Summit Hill Switchback Railroad became only a tourist road in the 1890s and thrilled riders until it was liquidated in the 1930s, a casualty of the Great depression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haystack Mountain (Pennsylvania)</span> Mountain

References

  1. "Lehigh Gap Nature Center".
  2. "History of Palmerton Zinc" (PDF).