The Red River Gorge is a canyon system on the Red River in east-central Kentucky. Geologically, it is part of the Pottsville Escarpment.
Ballard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,249. Its county seat is Wickliffe. The county was created by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1842 and is named for Captain Bland Ballard, a soldier, statesman, and member of the Kentucky General Assembly. Ballard is now, as of late 2017, a wet county.
The Kentucky River Palisades are a series of steep, scenic gorges and limestone outcroppings that stretch for approximately 100 mi (160 km), along the Kentucky River in central Kentucky in the United States.
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City about 20 miles (32 km) to near Nyack, New York, and visible at Haverstraw, New York. They rise nearly vertically from near the edge of the river, and are about 300 feet (90 m) high at Weehawken, increasing gradually to 540 feet (160 m) high near their northern terminus. North of Fort Lee, the Palisades are part of Palisades Interstate Park and are a National Natural Landmark.
Fort Donelson National Battlefield preserves Fort Donelson and Fort Heiman, two sites of the American Civil War Forts Henry and Donelson Campaign, in which Union Army Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant and Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote captured three Confederate forts and opened two rivers, the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River, to control by the Union Navy. The commanders received national recognition for their victories in February 1862, as they were the first major Union successes of the war. The capture of Fort Donelson and its garrison by the Union led to the capture of Tennessee's capital and industrial center, Nashville, which remained in Union hands from February 25, 1862 until the end of the war, and gave the Union effective control over much of Tennessee. This struck a major blow to the Confederacy early in the war.
The Minnewaska State Park Preserve is a 22,275-acre (90.14 km2) preserve located on the Shawangunk Ridge in Ulster County, New York on US 44/NY 55, five miles (8.0 km) west of New York State Route 299. The park, which features scenic overlooks of the nearby Catskill Mountains, is primarily used for picnicking, hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing and swimming. The park is managed by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Palisades Interstate Park and its governing body, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed under an interstate compact in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century. The Palisades are the cliffs on the west bank of the Hudson River across from and continuing north of Manhattan Island. The commission consists of ten commissioners, five appointed by each governor, who serve staggered five-year terms.
Nyack Beach State Park is a 61-acre (0.25 km2) state park in Upper Nyack, Rockland County, New York. It consists of a small parking lot and a riverfront pathway, the southernmost section of the Hudson River Valley Greenway. It is known for its physical proximity to the Hudson River on one side of the pathway and the looming cliffs of the Palisades rising 700 feet (210 m) above on the other side.
Natural Bridge State Resort Park is a Kentucky state park located in Powell and Wolfe Counties along the Middle Fork of the Red River, adjacent to the Red River Gorge Geologic Area and surrounded by the Daniel Boone National Forest. Its namesake natural bridge is the centerpiece of the park. The natural sandstone arch spans 78 ft (24 m) and is 65 ft (20 m) high. The natural process of weathering formed the arch over millions of years. The park is approximately 2,300 acres (9 km2) of which approximately 1,200 acres (5 km2) is dedicated by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves as a nature preserve. In 1981 this land was dedicated into the nature preserves system to protect the ecological communities and rare species habitat. The first federally endangered Virginia big eared bats, Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus, recorded in Kentucky were found at Natural Bridge State Resort Park in the 1950s.
The University of Tennessee Arboretum is a research and educational arboretum operated by the University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station. It is located at 901 South Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It is open to the public without charge. Outdoor areas are open daily from 8:00 a.m. until sunset; the office and visitor center are open weekdays during normal office hours.
Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve is a forested gorge covering 2,639 acres near Whitesburg, KY in Letcher County, Kentucky. The deep and narrow gorge, adjacent to the Jefferson National Forest is carved into the face of Pine Mountain. Sandstone boulders and cliffs along with riglines and knobs provide views into the Appalachia area. The terrain is landscaped with streams, rivers, and a 60-foot waterfall. With a variety of habitat types, this nature preserve is home to many unique and unknown species of flora and fauna.
Axe Lake Swamp State Nature Preserve is a 458-acre (1.9 km2) nature reserve located near Barlow, Kentucky in Ballard County in an area known locally as "the Barlow bottoms", a wetland created by periodic flooding along the mouth of the Ohio River. Originally, Axe Lake consisted of 146 acres (0.6 km2) of the main lake and about 120 lots on the dryer portions of the property. These lots, the gate and an access road were maintained by a member/share-holder organization which agreed to the lake's dedication as a nature reserve on February 20, 1991. An additional 312 acres (1.3 km2) was dedicated on December 11, 2001.
Bat Cave and Cascade Caverns State Nature Preserves are two nature preserves totaling 146 acres (0.59 km2) located within the boundaries of Carter Caves State Resort Park in Carter County, Kentucky, United States. Bat Cave was dedicated as part of the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves system on December 16, 1981, for the protection of the Indiana bat with wintering numbers estimated at 28,000. The Cascade Caverns preserve was included to protect two rare plant species in Kentucky, the mountain maple and the Canadian yew.
The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves is an agency of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States dedicated to the protection of Kentucky's natural heritage. It oversees a statewide program of nature preserves, the Kentucky Wild Rivers Program, and the "Nature's Finest" license plate program of the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund Board. The program was formerly known as the "Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission", from 1976 until a reorganization in 2018.
The South Mountains are an ancient and deeply eroded mountain range in western North Carolina. They are an isolated remnant of the much larger Appalachian Mountains to the west, and are separated from the Appalachians by the Catawba River valley. The range covers approximately 100,000 acres (400 km²) in Burke, Cleveland, McDowell and Rutherford counties. The South Mountains are the highest and most rugged chain of the isolated mountain ranges which dot North Carolina's Piedmont region. The highest point in the range is Icy knob which rises to 3,000 feet above sea level. The South Mountains are heavily forested with Southeastern mixed forests. Water erosion from numerous rivers and streams has given the mountains narrow ridges and valleys.
Brigadoon State Nature Preserve is a state nature preserve located in Barren County, Kentucky adjacent to Barren River Lake.
Acadia Cliffs State Nature Preserve is a state nature preserve in Washington County, Ohio, United States, with a small neck extending into Athens County, Ohio. Covering an area of 112 acres (0.45 km2), it was founded in 1994. It is known for its sandstone cliffs. For a time, it was administered by the Ohio State Division of Wildlife, but is now administered by the Ohio Division of Nature Preserves. The nature preserve is close to the Washington-Athens County border.
Crutcher Nature Preserve and Sally Brown Nature Preserve are two adjacent tracts located in Garrard and Jessamine county Kentucky that also serve to protect a large section of the Kentucky River Palisades. They are owned by The Nature Conservancy, a US charitable environmental organization working to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth.
Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail is a 120 mi (193 km) trail under development in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Once completed, the trail will wind along Pine Mountain Ridge from the Breaks Interstate Park to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The park itself will cover a 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) band along Pine Mountain. The trail will connect Bad Branch State Nature Preserve and many other natural areas owned by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves.
Lynx Prairie is a 52-acre (210,000 m2) nature preserve located in Adams County, Ohio, United States, near the community of Lynx. The preserve features a group of cedar glades which harbor rare prairie species, surrounded by forests on all sides.
