New River Gorge

The New River is not new at all. In fact, the New River is one of the oldest rivers on earth. The Appalachian Mountains started their rise approximately 300 million years ago and the New River cuts down into rocks that are 330 million years old. The New River is what geologists call an inconsequent stream. As the Appalachians were uplifted, the New River cut down into the uplifted rocks, not changing its course. The rise of the mountains was inconsequential to the rivers course.

Over the past couple of days Barbara and I have traveled around the New River Gorge National Park (NP). We visited the visitors center, Sandstone Falls, Grand View, the New River Gorge Bridge and almost everything in between. The New River Gorge Bridge was completed in 1977, is 876 feet high and is the third highest bridge in the US. The New River Gorge is the newest NP in the US. In 1978 Congress established the New River Gorge as a protected waterway and in December 2020 it became our newest NP.

The scenery here is some of the best that we have ever seen. Everything is so green, the air is clean and the sky is crystal blue. Take a look!