Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
Preserves the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River.
Last updated
Where it is
Coordinates: 36°29′10″N 84°41′53″W (36.4860, -84.6980) · Open in OpenStreetMap
Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.
The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area protects the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries in northeastern Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky. The area contains remnants of past logging and mining expansion, including the abandoned community of No Business in Tennessee and the preserved mining community of Blue Heron in Kentucky. It also holds one of the highest concentrations of natural bridges in the eastern United States.
Geology
The river gorge is the most prominent geologic feature, cutting through softer Mississippian age rock beneath the hard Pennsylvanian capstone of the Cumberland Plateau. Water is the most influential agent of change, eroding the softer Mississippian rock—composed of limestone, shale, and calcareous sandstone—from beneath the erosion-resistant Pennsylvanian sandstone capstone. This process forms waterfalls and gorges.
Where hard capstone remains intact, arches develop, creating natural bridges across streams or dry ravines. Direct erosion widens joints and forms cavities below the resilient rock, producing water-eroded arches. Hoodoos, rare in the area, form similarly to those in the western United States: tough capstone on a hillside prevents erosion of softer material below, leaving an erect columnar rock where a hill once stood.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area?
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is located in Scott, Fentress, Pickett, and Morgan counties in Tennessee, and McCreary County, Kentucky, United States.
When was Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area founded?
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area was founded on March 7, 1974.
More in National Park Service National Recreation Areas
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced