.jpg) The Natural Tunnel, still in use as a railroad tunnel | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Natural Tunnel State Park, Scott County, Virginia, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°42′11″N 82°44′35″W / 36.703°N 82.743°W |
| Operation | |
| Constructed | 1893 |
| Opened | 1894 |
| Owner | Commonwealth of Virginia |
| Operator | Norfolk Southern Railway |
| Traffic | Coal Haulage |
| Character | Naturally formed limestone cave converted to a railroad tunnel |
| Technical | |
| Length | 838 feet (255 m) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Electrified | No |
| Tunnel clearance | Portals: 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]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
tunnelwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Virginia State Parks: Natural Tunnel". July 21, 2009.