From atop Warm Springs Mountain, an unbroken forest of ridges and valleys stretches to the horizon, much as it did for the Algonquins, who called these mountains allegheny, meaning "endless," and regarded them as sacred hunting and fishing grounds. Early colonists followed well-worn bison and game trails into these highlands and discovered the thermal springs that gave the mountain its name. Today the region is recognized as one of North America's richest natural treasures and contains one of the healthiest, most biologically diverse forests in the world. Its forests protect cool headwater streams that carry clean water to larger rivers and ultimately to millions of people in the East. In the valley below, the Cowpasture River, widely considered Virginia's most pristine river, winds about 75 miles through farm fields and pastures before joining the Jackson River near Iron Gate to form the James River, which continues to the Chesapeake Bay. Warm Springs Mountain and the lands for miles to the east were originally part of the vast colonial Douthat Survey, and much of this landscape is now preserved within the George Washington National Forest, Douthat State Park, several state wildlife management areas, and The Nature Conservancy's Warm Springs Mountain Preserve.