Sandstone Falls - New River
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Sandstone Falls is located on the New River 8.5 miles north of Hinton WV on River Rd. The scenic overlook for the falls is 3 miles south of I-64 on Route 20 and the Sandstone Visitors Center is located right off of the I-64 exit for Sandstone.
A little about New River: The New River forms along the western slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. As it winds its way 320 miles north it picks up water from many tributaries in 3 States, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia finally joining with the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River. All of these tributaries make up the New River watershed, which drains the biggest part of southern West Virginia.
The Watershed: High points in the terrain, hills and mountains, form boundaries between watersheds. When it rains or snows, the water drains from the land into lakes, streams and rivers that carry it away like veins. The water like blood, sustains and is beneficial to all life in the watershed. Watersheds contain many habitats, along the rivers, in the rivers, and on land away from rivers, and all of these habitats need the continuous cycle of water and nutrients for survival. Life along the river is the most diverse of all areas in the watershed, it is called the riparian zone, and provides moist habitats for plants and animals. The benefits of this area, including the natural defense from flooding that is created by plants growing along the river, is one of the main reasons that man is attracted to this area for use as development and agriculture.
Sandstone Falls: Sandstone Falls are the largest waterfall system in the New River Gorge National River. The area where the falls span the river is 1500 feet wide, and is divided by a series of islands. At these falls the river drops from 10 to 25 feet in different sections. Sandstone Falls was created by water flowing over different types of rock layers, some harder and some softer. At this point in the river, the water flows over hard sandstone, and then encounters a softer layer of shale and conglomerate, which eroded quickly allowing the water to drop from the harder sandstone layer to the softer layers below creating Sandstone Falls. Today the falls are actually still moving, slowly retreating upstream.
Ecology: The area around Sandstone Falls is classified as an Appalachian Flatrock Ecosystem, which is defined as continuous flats of sandstone. The sandstone in this area, the Stony Gap Sandstone, extends up the river about 12 miles. This ecosystem is different, because of the occasional flooding that strips the soil and plants making it very difficult for plant live to survive, and because of this you can find rare plants and animals here that can only be found along a few fast flowing Appalachian rivers.
At the river level area there is a board walk that will take you to the above coordinates. Also in the area there is a trail that loops the island. Please visit all three areas, river level, overlook, and visitors center. Please if you feel that you need to leave the boardwalk, the park rangers ask that you wear a life preserver.
In order to log this earthcache, please e-mail me the answers to the following questions:
1 - The overlook is how high above the falls.
2 - Name 3 plants that live in the emergent plant zone.
3 - Stop in at the visitors center and tell me the rate of flowing over the falls on the day you visit. (they update it daily)
Although not a requirement of logging, please post a picture of yourself at the above listed coordinates with the falls in the background.
Please visit the above coordinates which are at river level. Answers to question 2 can be found on signs there. There are three points to visit to log this Earthcache (visitors center, overlook, and GZ at river level) finds may be removed if all points are not visited.
All information obtained by visiting the sights listed, interviews with park staff, and internet research
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