The New River Gorge Is West Virginia S Grand Canyon

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

The gorge is 53 miles long.

WikiMedia Commons/ Malik Ahamed

The rocky cliffs are popular with climbers.

WikiMedia Commons/ Jarek Tuszyński

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

Flickr/Jo Munday

No one is sure why it’s called the “New” river.

WikiMedia Commons/Gabor Eszes

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

Flickr/Jo Munday

The New River is especially popular with white water rafters.

Flickr/Rory Finneren

The CSX railroad travels along the bottom of the gorge.

Flickr/jpmueller99

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

Flickr/B Rosen

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

Flickr/Jeremy Markovich

People BASE jump and rappel from the bridge.

Flickr/Jeremy Markovich

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

WikiMedia Commons/ Malik Ahamed

WikiMedia Commons/ Jarek Tuszyński

Flickr/Jo Munday

WikiMedia Commons/Gabor Eszes

Flickr/Rory Finneren

Flickr/jpmueller99

Flickr/B Rosen

Flickr/Jeremy Markovich

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!

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