Cheat Canyon is a forested gorge in northeastern West Virginia, cut by the Cheat River along the western edge of the Allegheny Mountains. Its steep sandstone walls, talus fields, and limestone caves create a rugged landscape, while the river is known for major whitewater rapids and annual paddling events. The gorge also has a long human and environmental history, from the Dunkards’ settlement there in 1772 to later damage from coal mining, poor forest management, and a private dam that helped make the Cheat one of the nation’s most endangered rivers in the 1990s. Today it is prized for both wild scenery and ongoing conservation struggles.