Region contains one of the highest concentrations of natural bridges in the eastern United States

How to Get There

Overview

The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, commonly known as Big South Fork, preserves the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries in northeastern Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky.

The Big South Fork region contains one of the highest concentrations of natural bridges in the eastern United States and the area is located in parts of Scott, Fentress, Pickett, and Morgan counties in Tennessee, and McCreary County in Kentucky. Charit Creek Lodge is a wilderness lodge, accessible by trail, located within the park.

Geology

The Big South Fork's most prominent feature is the river gorge cutting through the softer Mississippian age rock beneath the hard Pennsylvanian capstone of the Cumberland Plateau. Water is the most influential agent of geologic change in the Big South Fork region. Over time water action has left many unique and amazing geologic features ranging from the river gorge with its magnificent bluffs to the natural arches and unusual hoodoos.

Hoodoos are a rare but intriguing feature occurring in the Big South Fork. These hoodoos form in a similar manner to those found in the western United States. Where tough capstone still exists on the side of a hill for instance, it prevents the erosion of the softer material below. The result is a naturally formed erect columnar rock where once was located a hill.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area", and "Cummins Falls", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0