Natural Tunnel State Park

Natural Tunnel
The Natural Tunnel, still in use as a railroad tunnel
Overview
LocationNatural Tunnel State Park, Scott County, Virginia, United States
Coordinates36°42′11″N 82°44′35″W / 36.703°N 82.743°W / 36.703; -82.743
Operation
Constructed1893
Opened1894
OwnerCommonwealth of Virginia
OperatorNorfolk Southern Railway
TrafficCoal Haulage
CharacterNaturally formed limestone cave converted to a railroad tunnel
Technical
Length838 feet (255 m)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
ElectrifiedNo
Tunnel clearancePortals: 50 feet (15 m)
Max: 80 feet (24 m)

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 200 feet (61 m) wide and 80 feet (24 m) 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.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tunnel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Virginia State Parks: Natural Tunnel". July 21, 2009.