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Posted in West Virginia Nature August 01, 2016 by Rachel Whetstone

West Virgina Has A Grand Canyon And It’s Too Beautiful For Words

While nothing can quite match the Grand Canyon, West Virginia has a smaller version that is no less beautiful: the New River Gorge.

During these uncertain times, please keep safety in mind and consider adding destinations to your bucket list to visit at a later date.

The gorge is 53 miles long.

The rocky cliffs are popular with climbers.

The New River is thought to be one of the five oldest rivers in the world.

No one is sure why it's called the "New" river.

It's somewhere between 325 million and 260 million years old, making it much older than the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.

The New River is especially popular with white water rafters.

The CSX railroad travels along the bottom of the gorge.

The New River Gorge Bridge is one of the iconic images of West Virginia scenery.

It's celebrated each year at the annual Bridge Day.

People BASE jump and rappel from the bridge.

You can watch a video of people jumping off the bridge here.

If you’d like to learn more about the New River Gorge bridge, here are some facts that you probably didn’t know.

We’re lucky to have such a beautiful place in West Virginia!

Rachel Whetstone

Rachel is proud to live in wild and wonderful West Virginia. She enjoys nature walks, photography, and discovering new restaurants all around the state.