The Jicamarca VHF radar (50 MHz) has detected atmospheric echoes in the so‐called ”gap region” from 30 to 60 km heights. These echoes are, for the first time, discriminated from clutter echoes, using both co‐polarized (co‐pol) and cross‐polarized (x‐pol) arrays to monitor the clutter component which may enter the antenna sidelobes. The atmospheric scatterings in this region are shown to be composed of refractivity layers with thickness as of 1–2 km as in other middle atmospheric height ranges, suggesting that these scatterings are caused by thin turbulent layers. The height profile of inferred vertical wind velocities indicates a wavy structure. The wave amplitude, as a whole, increases with height, suggesting the activity of upward‐propagating gravity waves. Copyright 1993 by the American Geophysical Union.