Geological age ~310 Mya Pennsylvanian sandstone and conglomerate
Epoch Pennsylvanian
Taxa 644 plants, 89 birds, 661 insects, 18 mammals, 154 fungi, 27 reptiles, 21 amphibians, 68 arachnids
Most observed mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) (Goodyera pubescens) (Lygodium palmatum) (Gaylussacia brachycera) (Magnolia macrophylla)
Native lands Cherokee (Aniyunwiya) held the Cumberland Plateau as ancestral hunting territory, with rockshelter camps documented throughout the gorge zone; Yuchi (Tsoyaha) occupied the plateau prior to Cherokee dominance; Shawnee (Shawanwaki) used the region as hunting grounds following the Beaver Wars in the 1660s; Cherokee ceded adjacent plateau lands via the First Treaty of Tellico 1798 and remaining Cumberland Plateau territory via the Third Treaty of Tellico 1805; Cherokee removed to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears 1838-1839
Ecology Mixed mesophytic and oak-hickory forest dominates the upland plateau, with hemlock ravine forest and floodplain forest in the gorge zone; mountain laurel and rhododendron are prominent understory species, and sandstone cliffs host rare endemics including Cumberland cliff sedge and Appalachian shoestring fern.
Hydrology Cumberland River watershed via the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, a 76-mile free-flowing river formed by the confluence of the New River and Clear Fork in Scott County, Tennessee; the gorge system features steep-walled sandstone canyons, waterfalls, and seeps across 472+ miles of streams.
Acreage 125,000
Conservation National River and Recreation Area; Kentucky Wild River (Blue Heron section)
Endangered species Cumberland elktoe, Cumberlandian combshell, tan riffleshell, little-wing pearly mussel, Cumberland bean pearly mussel, duskytail darter, palezone shiner, blackside dace
GPS 36.5072° N, 84.7025° W
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area I · 2026-03-16
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Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area II · 2026-03-16
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Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area III · 2026-03-16
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Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area IV · 2026-03-16
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Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area V · 2026-03-16
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Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area VI · 2026-03-16
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Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area VII · 2026-03-16
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Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area VIII · 2026-03-16
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Mammoth Cave National Park →
Public Lands Institute — ongoing project
CC0 Public Domain
