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This is a list of the National Natural Landmarks (NNLs) in West Virginia. There are sixteen in all — five are wetlands (such as bogs and swamps), three are forests , six are limestone caves / karst , and two are rock formations.
The region's geologic setting and landscape history make the Potomac Highlands one of the most scenic areas within the central Appalachian Mountains.The eastern part of the region is within the Ridge and Valley physiographic province, where long, steep-sided mountain ridges alternate with parallel broad, flat valleys.
[10] [c] In total, West Virginia has over 1.6 million acres (6,475 km 2) of state and federal protected lands. [11] State parks and forests also feature more than 1,400 miles (2,253 km) of hiking trails across 45 areas. [10] There are state parks in 30 of West Virginia's 55 counties with Pocahontas County having the most at five.
President Jimmy Carter signed legislation establishing New River Gorge National River on November 10, 1978 (Pub. L. 95–625).As stated in the legislation, the park was established as a unit of the national park system "for the purpose of conserving and interpreting outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects in and around the New River Gorge, and preserving as a free-flowing ...
The first of these (1934) resulted in the establishment and maintenance, by the West Virginia State Forest and Park Commission, of a 446 acres (1.80 km 2) scenic overlook at the head of the Canyon which included the celebrated Falls itself. [5]: 597 A state park was formally established in 1937.
The national recreation area protects three prominent West Virginia landmarks: Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia (and the highest of the Allegheny Mountains) with a summit elevation of 4,863 feet (1482 m). Seneca Rocks, a 900-foot (270 m) high quartzite crag popular with rock climbers.
The Bluestone National Scenic River protects a 10.5-mile (16.9 km) section of the Bluestone River in Summers and Mercer counties of southern West Virginia. It was created 26 October 1988 under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and is protected by the National Park Service .
The Washington Heritage Trail is a 136.0-mile (218.9 km) National Scenic Byway through the easternmost counties of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The trail forms a loop through the three counties and traces the footsteps of George Washington and the marks his family left in the Eastern Panhandle. In addition to homes and sites related to ...