Cathedral State Park
Cathedral State Park | |
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![]() Cathedral Trail | |
![]() ![]() Location of Cathedral State Park in West Virginia | |
Location | Preston, West Virginia, United States |
Coordinates | 39°19′36″N 79°32′17″W / 39.32667°N 79.53806°WCoordinates: 39°19′36″N 79°32′17″W / 39.32667°N 79.53806°W |
Area | 132 acres (53 ha)[2] |
Elevation | 2,579 ft (786 m) |
Established | 1942[3] |
Governing body | West Virginia Division of Natural Resources |
Website | wvstateparks |
Cathedral State Park is the largest virgin timber tract remaining in West Virginia. The park features trees of up to 90 feet in height and 16 feet in circumference.[4] Located on 132 acres (53 ha)[2] about one mile (1.6 km) east of the town of Aurora and five miles west of Redhouse, Maryland, Cathedral is a mixed forest of predominantly eastern hemlock.[5] Rhine Creek runs through the park.[4]
The National Park Service has designated the park as a National Natural Landmark in 1965.[6]
The park is under significant threat from the hemlock woolly adelgid, which has been detected within 20 miles (32 km) of the park.[7]
History[]
Mr Branson Haas, a workman for the Brookside hotel, purchased the land in 1922 and sold it to the state of West Virginia in 1942.[4] It was included in the Brookside Historic District.[8] The park was entered in the National Registry for Natural History Landmarks on October 6, 1966.[4] The Society of American Foresters recognized the park in 1983 in its National Natural Areas program.[4]
In 2004, the state's largest hemlock tree was felled by lightning.[4]
In October 2012, the park suffered extensive damage resulting from snowfall produced by Hurricane Sandy.[6]
An Eastern Hemlock in Cathedral State Park
Hemlock in Cathedral State Park
Trails[]
Trail Name | Trail Length[4] | |
---|---|---|
ft | m | |
Cathedral Trail | 5,898 | 1,798 |
Giant Hemlock Trail | 1,170 | 360 |
Partridge Berry Trail | 2,931 | 893 |
Trillium Trail | 668 | 204 |
Cardinal Trail | 1,201 | 366 |
Wood Thrush Trail | 3,274 | 998 |
Old Oakland Road | 2,257 | 688 |
See also[]
- List of West Virginia state parks
- State park
- List of old growth forests
- List of National Natural Landmarks
- List of National Natural Landmarks in West Virginia
References[]
- ^ "Cathedral State Park". Protected Planet. IUCN. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ a b West Virginia State Parks Facilities Grid, accessed March 29, 2008 Archived 2008-06-26 at WebCite
- ^ Where People and Nature Meet: A History of the West Virginia State Parks. Charleston, West Virginia: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. April 1988. ISBN 0-933126-91-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Cathedral State Park" (PDF). www.wvstateparks.com. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ^ Forests of the Appalachians Project web site, accessed July 22, 2006.
- ^ a b Cathedral State Park web site, access July 22, 2006
- ^ "Trees last stand: Park may be last place to see uncut hemlock forest in state", Charleston Gazette, December 19, 2004, accessed July 22, 2006. Archived May 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Courtney Fint Zimmerman (July 2012). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Brookside Historic District" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
External links[]
- IUCN Category III
- State parks of West Virginia
- Protected areas of Preston County, West Virginia
- National Natural Landmarks in West Virginia
- Northwestern Turnpike
- Protected areas established in 1942
- National Register of Historic Places in Preston County, West Virginia
- Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
- Historic district contributing properties in West Virginia