New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, in southeast West Virginia, includes the deepest and longest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains. A gorge is a narrow valley between hills or mountains with a stream running through it. New River Gorge measures 53 miles (85 kilometers) long and reaches depths of up to 1,000 feet (300 meters). The New River carved the gorge into sandstone and shale over millions of years. The gorge features remarkable fossils of ancient plants and invertebrates (animals without backbones), enormous boulders, and exposed seams of coal. A seam of coal is a bed of coal large enough to be mined for profit. The park also includes thousands of acres or hectares of forest. The New River Gorge National Park area is known for whitewater rafting, sport fishing, and rock climbing. Visitors can also enjoy hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, hunting, bird watching, and camping. For the park’s area, see National Park System (table: National parks).
In 1873, a railroad made what is now the park area accessible for large-scale mining and harvesting, helping to enable the industrialization of the United States. Industrialization is the wide-scale development of an area from agriculture to manufacturing. Coal from the park area once fueled trains, factories, and power plants across the United States. From the park’s many overlooks and hikes, visitors can see the remnants of railroads, timber-harvesting operations, and coal mines from the 1700’s and 1800’s. These artifacts remind visitors of the cultural significance of the area and its role in the industrialization of the United States.
Mining ended in what is now the park area in the 1960’s. Since that time, the forest, river, and many endangered species have recovered substantially. The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is home to the endangered Virginia big-eared bats, Indiana bats, and the candy darter, a species of colorful fish. Many species of bats depend on the park’s abandoned mining caves for roosting (resting). The park’s plant life includes rhododendrons and Christmas ferns, which stay green throughout the winter.
The New River runs from North Carolina to West Virginia and was designated a national river in 1978. In 2021, the National Park Service redesignated the area as a national park and preserve.
