Ford a channel going west, following new range (6,6)
I believe the answer is:
sierra nevada
'range' is the definition.
(I know that Sierra Nevada is a chain)
'ford a channel going west following new' is the wordplay.
'ford' becomes 'sierra' (Ford Sierra is a car).
'a channel going west' becomes 'evada' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'following' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'new' becomes 'n' (common abbreviation eg NT for New Testament).
'evada' after 'n' is 'nevada'.
'sierra'+'nevada'='SIERRA NEVADA'
(Other definitions for sierra nevada that I've seen before include "Andalusian mountain range" , "Range of Western US" , "Mountains" , "Mountain range in Spain or E. California" .)