Cathedral State Park

Cathedral State Park
Cathedral Trail
Map showing the location of Cathedral State Park
Map showing the location of Cathedral State Park
Location of Cathedral State Park in West Virginia
LocationPreston, West Virginia, United States
Coordinates39°19′36″N 79°32′17″W / 39.32667°N 79.53806°W / 39.32667; -79.53806
Area132 acres (53 ha)[2]
Elevation2,579 ft (786 m)
Established1942[3]
Governing bodyWest Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Websitewvstateparks.com/park/cathedral-state-park/

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]

  1. ^ "Cathedral State Park". Protected Planet. IUCN. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  2. ^ a b West Virginia State Parks Facilities Grid, accessed March 29, 2008 Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference brochure was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Forests of the Appalachians Project web site, accessed July 22, 2006.
  6. ^ Cathedral State Park web site, access July 22, 2006
  7. ^ "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