Natural Bridge (Virginia)

Natural Bridge is a geological formation in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States, comprising a natural arch with a span of . It is situated within a gorge carved from the surrounding mountainous limestone terrain by Cedar Creek, a small tributary of the James River. Consisting of horizontal limestone strata, Natural Bridge is the remains of the roof of a cave or tunnel through which the Cedar Creek once flowed.

Natural Bridge has been designated a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Since 2016, the bridge and its surroundings have been managed by the Commonwealth of Virginia as Natural Bridge State Park. Strata at Natural Bridge are close to horizontal, in contrast with dipping and folded beds as close as away along Highway 11, which points to the fact that structurally the rocks making the Natural Bridge are the bottom part of a syncline.

The process of formation of the bridge is less certain, but the ideas proposed by different individuals have in common the importance of three elements: The southeast dipping of the strata, the capability of water to slowly dissolve carbonates, and the existence of numerous fractures. Edgar W. Spencer has provided a summary of the most respected interpretations and produced the presently most widely accepted hypothesis.

According to Spencer, the Natural Bridge was the remnant of an underground river tunnel that diverted water to the south. Initially, the underground river started capturing water from the Poague Run about to the north, contributing to enlarge the incipient Cedar Creek drainage basin. Over time, through weathering and erosion, the underground river collapsed and disappeared almost completely, the Natural Bridge being the only surviving relic of the roof of the ancient underground river. The creek's larger flow contributed to form the present-day gorge, significantly increasing the distance from the bottom of the water flow to the roof of the underground channel. Today, the "Lost River", about upstream from the Natural Bridge, is an example supporting the hypothesis of the underground river. Water from the side of the gorge flows into the Cedar Creek, similarly as the ancestral Cedar Creek underground river allegedly flowed into the Cascade Creek, presently entering the Cedar Creek approximately below the Natural Bridge.

Historic Rockbridge indicates that “Natural Bridge is part of the Beekmantown Formation from the Ordovician period, estimated to be 500 million years old.”

History

left|thumb|upright|Natural Bridge by [[Frederic Edwin Church, 1852]]

The Natural Bridge was a sacred site of the Native American Monacan tribe, who believed it to be the site of a major victory over pursuing Powhatans centuries before the arrival of Europeans in Virginia.

In March 1742, a frontiersman named John Howard — along with his son and others — was commissioned by Governor William Gooch to explore the southwest of Virginia as far as the Mississippi River. The party followed Cedar Creek through the Natural Bridge, then floated in buffalo-skin boats down the New, Coal, Kanawha, and Ohio rivers to the Mississippi.

It is alleged that George Washington also came to the site in 1750 as a young surveyor.

Natural Bridge was one of the tourist attractions of the new world that Europeans visited during the 18th and 19th centuries. Vacationing guests from all over the world took day trips from Natural Bridge on horseback or horse-drawn carriages to explore the countryside. In 1833, a new owner erected the Forest Inn to accommodate the increasing number of people.

The bridge had considerable notoriety during the 19th century. Herman Melville alluded to the bridge in describing Moby-Dick: "But soon the fore part of him slowly rose from the water; for an instant his whole marbleized body formed a high arch, like Virginia's Natural Bridge..." William Cullen Bryant, another American literary figure, said that Natural Bridge and Niagara Falls were the two most remarkable features of North America. During the 1880s Natural Bridge was a resort owned by Colonel Henry Parsons, who also owned the nearby Rockbridge Inn.

In 1927 a nocturnal lighting display of the arch and gorge was designed by Samuel Hibben and Phinehas V. Stephens, illuminating engineers with the Westinghouse Company. The display was formally switched on by President Calvin Coolidge in a 1927 inaugural ceremony. The original display has since been replaced with a sound and light show depicting the biblical seven days of the Creation as described in Genesis.

In 2013, nearly , including the bridge, were slated to be sold at auction. To prevent piecemeal development of the landmark, the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund (VCLF) purchased the bridge, hotel, and surrounding land for $9.1 million, made possible by a loan from the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund. When the VCLF soon found itself unable to make payments on that loan, the Commonwealth of Virginia offered to manage the property as a Virginia State Park.

Natural Bridge State Park

thumb|Lace Falls on Cedar Creek in Natural Bridge State Park, Rockbridge County, Virginia.Natural Bridge State Park officially opened on September 24, 2016. As a state park, the property is owned and managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Visitors must purchase tickets to view the bridge from below, although the park's fees under state management are about half what had been charged under prior ownership.

The new state park was designated an "Affiliated Area" by the National Park Service in 2016. The designation does not imply ownership or management by the federal government, though it does allow for their technical and financial assistance.

References

External links

Natural Bridge State Park official website
Natural Bridge Hotel website
Video showing various places at the site from 2016
Natural Bridge Bed and Breakfast Lodging

History

Natural Bridge State Park

See also

References

External links