Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve is a Natural Area Preserve located along the

Bull Run Mountains The Bull Run Mountains are a mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia in the United States. Located approximately east of the main chain, across the Loudoun Valley. The Bull Run Mountains, together with Catoctin Mount ...

in Fauquier and

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

counties,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Dedicated in 2002, the majority of the preserve is owned and operated by the

Virginia Outdoors Foundation The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is a quasi-state agency formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the nat ...

(VOF). It harbors a number of outstanding

natural community In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological communit ...

types, some of which are rare in the Commonwealth. There are also

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

cliffs and

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

fields around High Point Mountain within the preserve's boundaries. While most of the preserve is prioritized for scientific and educational activities, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation keeps 800 acres of the preserve open to the public on Friday-Sunday (8am-6pm) for low-impact uses such as hiking and wildlife observation. On November 25, 2014, the Virginia Outdoors Foundation announced that the private landowner of the High Point cliff area on the preserve would close the cliffs to the public for an indefinite period of recovery and restoration, starting January 15, 2015. The preserve is part of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation's Bull Run Mountains Special Project Area, which encompasses .

References

External links

Bull Run Mountains.org websiteVirginia Outdoors FoundationVirginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve
Virginia Natural Area Preserves Protected areas of Fauquier County, Virginia Protected areas of Prince William County, Virginia Protected areas established in 2002 2002 establishments in Virginia NOVA Parks {{PrinceWilliamCountyVA-geo-stub

See also

References

External links