Waters of Qualla Passage

Soco Gap has been recognized for centuries by the Cherokees as one of the gateways into their country. Its names reflect this: "Ambush place" or ahalunvyi, referring to an encounter with the Shawnees. Another name applied to a place nearby is: "Where the Spaniard is thrown in the water" or Askwan digugv yi referring to a place on Soco Creek near present-day Rocky Branch church. Soco Gap was also the location of the legendary encounter between Tecumseh and Junaluska, about 1811, when Junaluska refused Tecumseh's request that the Cherokee unite with them to fight the whites.

Today the Cherokee use "Soco" to refer to the road over the mountain, the gap itself, and the creek. A waterfall, Soco Falls, can be glimpsed from Rt. 19 on the Qualla Boundary, and is more visible in the winter. Soco also refers to the community of people who live on the Qualla Boundary near the foot of this mountain, in Wolfetown. A weaving and quilting pattern invented by Cherokee women in the 1930's looks like trails and mountains and was named "Soco Gap."