Today we took a little recreational trip down to Natural Tunnel State Park in Duffield, Va. It was pretty neat!
Some info about the tunnel from Natural Tunnel State Park website (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/nat.shtml):
Natural Tunnel, called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by William Jennings Bryan, has been attracting sightseers to the mountains of southwestern Virginia for more than 100 years. Today it is the focal point of Natural Tunnel State Park, a park which offers visitors not only spectacular sights but also swimming, camping, picnicking, hiking, a visitor center, an amphitheater and interpretive programs.
The creation of Natural Tunnel began more than a million years ago in the early glacial period when groundwater bearing carbonic acid percolated through crevices and slowly dissolved surrounding limestone and dolomite bedrock. Then, what is now Stock Creek was probably diverted underground to continue carving the tunnel slowly over many centuries. The walls of the tunnel show evidence of prehistoric life, and many fossils can be found in the creek bed and on tunnel walls.
See the pictures below!
The Natural Tunnel from above.
From above again.
You can see the ski lift along the edge of the cliff. We took this down to see the tunnel up close.
The tunnel observation area.
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