This later gap was exploited as a transportation corridor with the construction of the Lausanne–Nescopeck Turnpike between the respective frontier communities at Lausanne Landing and Nescopeck (opposite bank from Shickshinny, PA on the Susquehanna River) in 1805 connecting the newly developing Wyoming Valley with Philadelphia and the Delaware River valley; cutting off over 100 miles between Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre.

The elevation of Nescopeck Mountain is 1,594 feet (486 m) above sea level, making it the highest ridge in Columbia County.

[7][8] John Gosse Freeze's 1888 book A History of Columbia County, Pennsylvania: From the Earliest Times described the ridge as "beautiful and regular in its formation".

[7][8] It is considerably steeper and higher on its northern side, at least in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Berwick.

[16] Nescopeck Mountain occupies the United States Geological Survey quadrangles of Shumans, Nuremberg, Berwick, Sybertsville, Freeland, and White Haven.

[17] A stream known as Scotch Run flows through a valley with Nescopeck Mountain on its northern edge.

[19] Nescopeck Mountain is mainly formed by hard, upturned conglomerates belonging to the Pocono Formation.

The Spechty Kopf Formation occurs at the peak of the ridge and extends to a depth of approximately 1,500 feet (460 m) below sea level.

The Trimmers Rock Formation runs from the middle elevations of the ridge to more than 2,000 feet (610 m) below sea level.

[21] During an ice age, glaciers pressed against Nescopeck Mountain and eventually moved over it, carrying gravel from the Susquehanna River.

[2] This variant name appears in Israel C. White's 1883 book The geology of the North Branch Susquehanna River Region in the six counties of Wyoming, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Montour and Northumberland.

[1] Additionally, the Forks Indians arrived at the ridge in 1740 after being evicted from their lands in the Lehigh Valley.

[17] As early as 1755, a pair of Moravian missionaries, Christian Seidel and Henry Frey, descended the ridge while visiting Native Americans.

[23] In 1838, a man named Mr. Butler requested permission of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to construct a tunnel or through cut through Nescopeck Mountain for the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.

[24] In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Glen Summit Springs Hotel operated on top of Nescopeck Mountain.

During its most active use, it attracted visitors from the Wyoming Valley and from the East Coast of the United States.

[16] A gypsy moth infestation began on Nescopeck Mountain in the summer of 2014, causing hundreds of trees to be defoliated.

The barrens consist of scrub oaks, hairgrass, pitch pines, little bluestems, and blueberries.

[3] Additionally, the Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 187 contain the Nescopeck Mountain Barrens.