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New River Gorge National River
Nature & Science
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View of the lower New River Gorge |
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The New River within New River Gorge National River flows from below Bluestone Dam, near Hinton, West Virginia, to just north of the U.S. Highway 19 bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia. On its journey through the gorge, the New River passes through an extensive geological formation. Emergent rocks, rock outcrops, trails and coal mines are found to provide diverse habitat producing rich and abundant flora and fauna species. In the gorge, there is typically a 1000 feet difference in elevation between the river bottom and the adjacent plateau. The New River dissects all physiographic provinces of the Appalachian Mountains, and therefore is believed to be a corridor facilitating the movement of southern plant and animal species into West Virginia. In addition to serving as a refuge for some species, New River Gorge provides a geographical barrier that limits the east-west distribution of other species. This portion of southern WV falls within the Mixed Mesophytic Forest Region. Recognized forest types in the three park areas include oak-hickory, mixed oak, oak-maple, oak-yellow pine, hemlock-hardwoods, northern hardwoods, cove hardwoods, and bottomland and floodplain hardwoods.
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Peregrine Falcon Learn about the park's efforts to reintroduce this rare bird more... | | Hunting Impacts Study of the impacts of hunting at New River Gorge (Adobe Acrobat file) more... | |
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Did You Know?
You can "catch a train" to visit the park! The AMTRAK Cardinal travels through New River Gorge on its route from New York, NY to Chicago, IL.
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Last Updated: August 04, 2006 at 08:41 EST |