One of the oldest rivers in the world is famous for its extreme sports and hunting.
West Virginia has rolling green hills, soaring mountains, and diverse wildlife, but until late in 2020, it did not have a national park. Though it was home to some national rivers and historic sites managed by the National Park Service, it did not have a full-fledged “park”—large areas of land that protect an array of natural and historic features. In December 2020, the United States Congress passed a bill designating the New River Gorge as a national park and preserve, making it the first in the state.
The image above shows the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in southern West Virginia on April 22, 2020. The image was acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite and overlaid on digital elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) to give a sense of the topography. The shading in the image denotes the land within the park.
Despite its name, New River is one of the oldest rivers in the world, dating back more than 300 million years.
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Image via NASA Earth Observatory
