| 词条 | Natural Tunnel State Park | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 释义 |
|name = Natural Tunnel |image = 2013.VA.NaturalTunnelSP.RyanBerkheimer (8339448556).jpg |caption = The Natural Tunnel, still in use as a railroad tunnel |line = |location = Natural Tunnel State Park, Scott County, Virginia, United States |coordinates = {{coord|36.703|-82.743|source:GoogleEarth_region:US-VA_type:landmark_scale:10000|display=inline,title}} |system = |status = |start = |end = |stations = |startwork = |opened = 1894 |close = |owner = Commonwealth of Virginia |operator = Norfolk Southern Railway |traffic = Coal Haulage |character = Naturally formed limestone cave converted to a railroad tunnel |construction = 1893 |length = {{convert|838|ft}} |linelength = |tracklength = |notrack = |gauge = {{RailGauge|sg}} |el = No |speed = |hielevation = |lowelevation = |height = Portals: {{convert|50|ft}} Max: {{convert|80|ft}} |grade = }} Natural Tunnel State Park is a Virginia state park, centered on the Natural Tunnel, a massive naturally formed cave that is so large it is used as a railroad tunnel. It is located in the Appalachian Mountains near Duffield in Scott County, Virginia. The Natural tunnel, which is up to {{convert|200|ft}} wide and {{convert|80|ft}} high,[1] began to form more than a million years ago when groundwater bearing carbonic acid percolated through crevices and slowly dissolved limestone and dolomite bedrock. A small river, which is now called Stock Creek, was diverted underground and it continued to erode the tunnel over many millennia. The walls of the tunnel show evidence of prehistoric life. Many fossils have been found in the creek bed and in the tunnel walls.[1] GeologyThe tunnel passes through Purchase Ridge, which is made of the Ordovician Chepultepec Limestone and is near the axis of the Purchase Ridge syncline.[2] It lies between the Clinchport Thrust Fault and the Hunter Valley Thrust Fault, on the Hunter Valley Thrust Sheet.[3] The tunnel itself began its formation in the Pleistocene period. History{{Anchor|Native American heritage}}A popular legend tells of a Cherokee maiden and a Shawnee warrior who had been forbidden to marry by their respective tribes, jumped to their deaths from the highest pinnacle above the Natural Tunnel. The place is now known as Lover's Leap.Although Natural Tunnel State Park was created in 1967 and opened to the public in 1971, the natural tunnel has been a Virginian tourist attraction for more than a century; Daniel Boone is reputed to have been the first European to see it in the 18th century. The 41st United States Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan dubbed it the "Eighth Wonder of the World". The South Atlantic and Ohio railroad constructed tracks through the Natural Tunnel in 1893[4], and the first train passed through the following year. In 1899, the Natural tunnel was purchased by the Tennessee & Carolina Iron and Steel Company. The railway originally carried passenger trains; today, the line is still open but now operated by Norfolk Southern, also used under trackage rights by CSX, and is only used to transport coal.[5] Park facilitiesThere is a {{convert|500|m|ft|disp=flip|adj=on}} boardwalk that allows disabled visitors to gain access to the natural tunnel. Park visitors can also camp, swim, picnic and hike. There is a visitors center and naturally formed amphitheaters that are up to {{convert|600|ft}} high. Natural Tunnel State Park Trails
References1. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/natural-tunnel.shtml|title=Virginia State Parks: Natural Tunnel|date=2009-07-21}} 2. ^Roadside Geology of Virginia, 1986, Keith Frye, Mountain Press Publishing Co. 3. ^Harris, L.D., 1965, The Clinchport thrust fault - a major structural element of the southern Appalachian Mountains: United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper 525-B, scale 1:543000. 4. ^"Natural Tunnel", Trains magazine, January 1944 5. ^1 {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vj4eDwXmQwC&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=virginia+natural+tunnel+railroad&source=bl&ots=zM0Ee0oEzC&sig=7SqGdp3TR5bBK0dk2oHYRf1xezI&hl=en&ei=sqJlStuAEtC2jAfN99CUAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4|title=Natural Tunnel|author=Tony Scales, Stanley S. Johnson and Craig M. Ashbrook|date=2009-07-21}} 6. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 {{cite web|url=http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/documents/data/trail-guide-naturaltunnel.pdf|title=Natural Tunnel State Park Trails|date=2007-07-28}} External links{{commons category}}
7 : State parks of Virginia|State parks of the Appalachians|Parks in Scott County, Virginia|Railroad tunnels in Virginia|Protected areas established in 1967|1967 establishments in Virginia|Caves of Virginia |
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