User:SheepNotGoats/Breaks
| Breaks Interstate Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Dickenson County, Virginia and Pike County, Kentucky |
| Nearest city | Breaks, Virginia |
| Width | 200 |
| Area | 4,500 acres (18 km²) |
| Established | 1954 |
| Visitors | 400,000[1] (in 2004) |
| Governing body | Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and Kentucky State Parks |
| Website | http://www.breakspark.com/ |
Breaks Interstate Park, also referred as the "Grand Canyon of the South", is located in southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia at the terminus of Pine Mountain (ridge). The park's size is 4,500 acres (18 km²). At 1,600 feet and five miles long, the Breaks is one of the deepest gorges east of the Mississippi River, through which the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River and Clinchfield Railroad (now the CSX Transportation Kingsport Subdivision) run. It is accessed via Virginia State Route 80, between Haysi, Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, and passes through the community of Breaks, Virginia east of the park.
Interstate
[edit]Breaks is one of two interstate parks in the United States. Two-thirds of the park lies in Dickenson County, Virginia, while the remaining third is in Pike County, Kentucky.[2]
Recreation
[edit]The park contains 33 miles of trails, an 18-acre lake. The Russell Fork River, which contains up to class VI rapids, is popular for whitewater rafting.[2]
History
[edit]The Breaks were first discovered in 1767 by Daniel Boone, and the land that comprises that park was first owned by Richard Potter
The first paved road was not built until the 1950s.[1]
In 1870, Robert E. Withers visited the gorge, observing that the "bold and perpendicular walls of sandstone rise in naked majesty hundreds of feet high while the waters chafe".[3]
It was first described in print in 1900, when John Fox, Jr. wrote an article for Scribner's Magazine describing the area as "the most isolated spot this side of the Rockies".[4]
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Elkhorn City, Ky.: A park deep in Appalachia's heart. 2004-11-23. Downing, Bob. Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
- ^ a b 'Almost in heaven': Park on Va.-Ky. border boasts 'Grand Canyon of the South'. 2007-10-22. Brown, Bob. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.
- ^ The Virginia Headwaters of the Big Sandy River: A Story of Revitalization and Nature's Resilience. Ellsworth, Lu and Kilgore, Kari. Kilgore, Frank, ed. Mountain Heritage, St. Paul, Virginia: 2008.
- ^ Our History. Breaks Interstate Park. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.