In Podcast #19 the Trekkers take you to the Cumberland Gap, an important passageway through the Appalachian Mountains for the early settlers who were traveling west.  Find out how buffalo, then the American Indians, then Daniel Boone helped create this trail!  Take a look at three of Virginia’s five bordering states... all from one spot near the Gap!  We’ll also explore some science SOLs.  Review the phases of the moon, echoing sound waves,  convergent boundaries, and plants and animals of the region.  Come on, let's go trekkin'! (Trouble viewing the YouTube video? Try Vimeo or direct link)

Between 200,000 and 300,000 pioneers crossed the Cumberland Gap from the time that Daniel Boone widened the trail in 1775 to 1810 when other routes west became more popular.  One of those early settlers was a boy named Thomas Lincoln who crossed over with his family to settle in Kentucky. He later grew up to be Abraham Lincoln’s father! (Image credit)


Here is a Google map of the Cumberland Gap (hey, that rhymes)! Zoom in and out with the +/- buttons.



This is a 360 view from above the Cumberland Gap.  Can you see the gap?



This is a 360 view of the tri-state marker.  Can you see all three states?



This is a 3D model of the Cumberland Gap. The red arrow is pointing to it.

You can click and drag to spin it around, and scroll to zoom in.

Created with 3-D Mapper.



This is an old Flash activity about the bordering states of Virginia. We got it to work using Ruffle!


Social Studies

K.4 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to recognize Virginia’s earliest communities by

a. identifying examples of historical events, stories, and legends;

b. identifying early communities, changemakers and contributions of leaders, including but not limited to Indigenous tribes, farmers, traders, early settlers, minorities, women, and children;

c. recognizing that places change over time;


1.6 (2015) The student will develop a geographic understanding that

b) the landforms of Virginia affect the places people live.


1.7 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to connect geography to historical events of Virginia and the United States by

a. identifying landforms and bodies of water of Virginia and describing how they affect the way people live;


VS.2 (2015) The student will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between physical geography and the lives of the native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by

a) locating Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States;

b) locating and describing Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau;


VS.6 (2015) The student will demonstrate an understanding of the role of Virginia in the establishment of the new American nation by

c) explaining the influence of geography and technological advances on the migration of Virginians into other states and western territories in the first half of the 1800s.


VS.1 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the relationship between physical geography and the lives of Virginia’s peoples, past and present by

a. locating Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States and North America;

b. locating and describing the relative location and physical characteristics of Virginia's five geographic regions on a map;


VS.6 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain the establishment and growth of the new American nation with emphasis on the role of Virginians and events in Virginia during the 18th and 19th centuries by

d. explaining how geographical features and technological advances impacted the western movement in the first half of the 1800s;


USI.8 (2023) The student will apply history and social science skills to explain westward expansion and reform in America from 1801 to 1861 by

c. identifying geographic, economic, and religious motivations that influenced the movement of settlers;

d. analyzing the impact of westward expansion on Indigenous peoples, including but not limited to the Indian Removal policies, the Trail of Tears, Seminole Wars;


Science

4.6 The student will investigate and understand that there are relationships among Earth, the moon, and the sun. Key relationships include

c) the causes for the four major phases of the moon and the relationship to the tide cycles;


5.5 The student will investigate and understand that sound can be produced and transmitted. Key ideas include

a) sound is produced when an object or substance vibrates;

b) sound is the transfer of energy;

c) different media transmit sound differently; and

d) sound waves have many uses and applications.


5.8 The student will investigate and understand that Earth constantly changes. Key ideas include

b) plate tectonics describe movement of the crust;

c) the rock cycle models the transformation of rocks;

d) processes such as weathering, erosion, and deposition change the surface of the Earth; and

e) fossils and geologic patterns provide evidence of Earth’s change.