Natural Bridge is a massive arch of solid grey limestone, 215 feet high, 40 feet thick, 100 feet wide, and spanning 90 feet between massive walls, containing 450,000 cubic feet of rock and weighing about 72,000,000 pounds, or 36,000 tons. Though first discovered by people a few hundred years ago, it was formed through millions of years as Cedar Creek cut through early Ordovician rock about 500 million years old, rock whose folded and broken layers were shaped during Appalachian mountain building more than 200 million years ago. Rising approximately 1160 feet above sea level, the bridge was long regarded as a sacred site by the Monacan Indians, who called it “The Bridge of God.” According to legend, George Washington surveyed the surrounding acreage in 1750 for Lord Fairfax and carved his initials on the left wall of the bridge. On July 5, 1774, Thomas Jefferson bought Natural Bridge and 157 surrounding acres from King George III for twenty shillings, visited it often, surveyed the area, drew a map, and in 1803 built a two room cabin there. Natural Bridge also became a celebrated subject in American culture, appearing in works associated with Moby Dick and The Peaceable Kingdom, and being painted by artists including Edward Hicks, Frederick Edwin Church, and David Johnson. The Lee Highway, U.S. Route 11, still crosses over Natural Bridge.