Arches

The Big South Fork area sits on a portion of the Cumberland Plateau that is well known for an amazing array of natural arches. Most of the capstone in this part of the Appalachians is composed of sandstone. As with limestone, it's highly susceptible to the action of slightly acidic water in the aquifer. Thus, the sandstone erodes into many and various shapes, often ending up as arches ranging in size from just a few feet high to over one hundred feet.

One thing that I learned about the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is that you can only scratch the surface of what there is to see and do there over the course of an eight-day vacation. Thus, we'll definitely go back to see some of the wonderful spots we had to miss.

At Yahoo Arch (pronounced YAY-hoo.)

North Arch, the second largest of the Twin Arches.

South Arch, said to be the largest natural arch in eastern North America.

The trail on top of North Arch. Stay in the middle. If you fall off...it's 100 feet straight down. Splat!

Carole and Sharon & Bobby Childers precede me down the trail to Yahoo Arch.

Yahoo Arch. I was impressed with this one. We spent a fair amount of time at this location.

Another angle looking at Yahoo Arch.

I took this one from the top of Yahoo Arch. Sharon is taking a photo of me, Carole is sitting down. And Bobby Childers is talking with a young couple who were there eating lunch.

Under Yahoo Arch.

This is at a very easily accessible arch called Natural Bridge. It's located just outside Big South Fork in Pickett State Park. We liked this one, too. I took this from the top.

And a self-portrait taken at the base of the arch/bridge.

Group photo with Sharon, Bobby, Carole, and me.

 

Looking up at North Arch.

And South Arch, the largest natural arch in the Park (and probably in the East.)