New River Gorge National River

The New River Gorge National River is a unit of the United States National Park Service designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia. The NPS-protected area stretches for 53 miles from just downstream of Hinton to Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted.

What do you know about the New River Gorge National River? Explore this Quick US Geography Quiz.

1. New River Gorge is also home to some of the country's best whitewater rafting.

• True or False?

2. The New River Gorge is also one of the most popular climbing areas on the east coast. How many established rock climbs are there?

• 1,400 climbs
• 1,600 climbs
• 2,000 climbs

3. New River Gorge National River was established as a unit of the national park system. What years was it established?

• November 10, 1978
• November 10, 1988
• November 10, 1998

4. Located in the Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia, how many acres the park encompasses along the 53 miles of the New River from Bluestone Dam to Hawk�s Nest Lake?

• 50,000 acres
• 70,000 acres
• 90,000 acres

5. Thurmond Depot is an Amtrak station in Thurmond, West Virginia, served by the Cardinal. The station is located on CSX's New River Line. The two-story wooden structure, built in 1905, also houses a railroad museum and a visitor center for the New River Gorge National River. The building was renovated in 1995.

• True or False?

6. Babcock State Park is a state park located along the New River Gorge on 4,127 acres wooded in Fayette County, West Virginia. Located near the park headquarters is one of the most photographed tourist sites in West Virginia. What is it?

• Rhonda's Food Stand
• Fayette River Covered Bridge
• Glade Creek Grist Mill

7. Kay Moor, also known as Kaymoor, is the site of an abandoned coal mine, coal processing plant and company town near Fayetteville, West Virginia. The town site is located in the New River Gorge at Kaymoor Bottom

• True or False?

8. The New River Gorge Bridge carries U.S. Highway 19 over the New River at a height of 876 feet, making it the highest vehicular bridge in the Americas, and the second-highest in the world. What is the highest?

• Millau Viaduct in France
• Germain Viaduct in Italy
• Dong Wong Viaduct in China

9. Hawks Nest State Park is located on 370 acres in Fayette County near Ansted, West Virginia. The park's clifftop overlook along U.S. Route 60 provides a scenic vista of the New River, some 750 feet below. The hydro-electric project tunnel that passes underneath nearby Gauley Mountain was the scene of the tragic Depression-era Hawk's Nest incident. The park's lodge and aerial gondola to the river are located about a mile further east from the overlook along U.S. 60, closer to the center of Ansted.

• True or False?

10. In 2004, how many visitors came to New River Gorge National River?

• 1.1 million
• 1.9 million
• 2.5 million

New River Gorge National River Answers

1. True
2. 1,400 climbs
3. 1978
4. 70,000 acres
5. True
6. Glade Creek Grist Mill
7. True
8. Millau Viaduct in France
9. True
10. 1.1 million

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