noun
Archaic noun for a narrow valley between mountains. In modern Japanese, 峡谷 (きょうこく) or 谷 (たに) are more common. The cross-reference to はざま (sense 2) suggests a similar meaning.
See also: はざま
古い文献では、山あいの険しい地形を「峡」と記すことがある。
In old documents, the steep terrain between mountains is sometimes written as 峡.
The kanji 峡 is composed of 山 (mountain) and 夾 (to hold between), suggesting a place held between mountains. The reading かい is the on'yomi. The word itself is archaic and rarely used independently in modern Japanese.