New River Gorge National Park and Preserve protects 53 miles of the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia, preserving the Appalachian Plateau’s longest and deepest river gorge and a landscape shaped by exposed sandstone, shale, fossils, and coal seams. Established in 1978 and redesignated in 2020, it also reflects a major industrial past, as New River coal fueled American transportation and manufacturing and railroad-linked coal and lumber towns grew through the gorge after 1873. Today the area is a major outdoor recreation destination for whitewater rafting, climbing, hiking, and biking, while its river, forests, and cliffs support rich wildlife and rare plant communities.