Soco Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass between the Plott Balsam Range, to its south, and the Balsam Mountains, to its north. Also known as Ahalunun'yi (), meaning "Ambush Place" or Uni'halu'na (), meaning "where they ambushed;" named after the occasion, probably in the mid 1700s, when the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

s ambushed a party of invading

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

s, all of which were killed except for one, who was sent back (without his ears) to tell his people of the Cherokee victory. The gap is the eastern point of the

Qualla Boundary The Qualla Boundary or The Qualla is territory held as a land trust by the United States government for the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who reside in western North Carolina. The area is part of the large historic Che ...

, which marks the territory held as a land trust for the federally recognized

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a federally recognized Indian Tribe based in Western North Carolina in the United States. They are descended from the small ...

. The gap also separates Haywood and Jackson counties and separates the river basins to the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville form ...

and Little Tennessee. U.S. Route 19 (Soco Road) traverses through the gap, which connects

and Maggie Valley. The

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and National Scenic Byway, All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina cou ...

also passes through the gap, providing scenic views along the adjacent ridge lines.

References

External links

* Landforms of Haywood County, North Carolina Landforms of Jackson County, North Carolina Mountain passes of North Carolina Transportation in Haywood County, North Carolina Transportation in Jackson County, North Carolina Blue Ridge Parkway U.S. Route 19 {{NorthCarolina-geo-stub