Breaks Interstate Park is a bi-state

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

located partly in southeastern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and mostly in southwestern

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 are ...

, in the Jefferson National Forest, at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain. Rather than their respective state park systems, it is instead administered by an interstate compact between the states of Virginia and Kentucky. It is one of several interstate parks in the United States, but only one of two operated jointly under a compact rather than as two separate state park units. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Kentucky Department of Parks are still major partner organizations, however. The Breaks is also referred as the "

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

of the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

", through which the

Russell Fork The Russell Fork, 1975 Board on Geographic Names decision is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 13, 2011 tributary of the Levisa Fork in southwestern Virginia and sout ...

river and

Clinchfield Railroad The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segmen ...

(now the

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Kingsport Subdivision The Kingsport Subdivision (also KP Subdivision) is a 133.2-mile (214.4 km) railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It was formerly part of the Huntington West Division. It b ...

) run. It is accessed via highway 80 ( Virginia 80 and Kentucky 80), between Haysi, Virginia, and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, and passes through the community of Breaks, Virginia, east of the park.

History

This area was previously covered by a vast inland sea around 180 million years ago. Over subsequent millennia, the Russel Fork gradually carved through the rock to form the spectacular valleys which are seen today. Early human activity saw the area serve as hunting grounds for

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

people. In 1767, American frontiersman

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

passed through the area looking for an easier westward passage through Pine Mountain. Boone subsequently gave the area its current name, The Breaks.

Geography

Breaks Interstate Park is located about east of Elkhorn City,

. The park covers . The park's main feature, Breaks Canyon, is five miles long and ranges from deep. The canyon was formed by the

river through millions of years of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, nearby Elkhorn City has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Activities and amenities

*Trails: The park has trails for hiking [], mountain biking [], and horseback riding. *Water-based: The park has a water park with five waterslides, a current channel, and splash pad for small children, in the summer of 2014 the park also added a regulation sized volleyball court. The park also offers fishing, paddle boating, canoeing, and hydro biking on Laurel Lake, and white-water rafting on the Russell Fork. *Rock Climbing: The Breaks offers world-class rock climbing with sandstone similar to the nearby New River Gorge. *Accommodations: The park offers a

lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Minist ...

with 82 guest rooms, four

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s near Beaver Pond, five

cabin Cabin may refer to: Buildings * Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach * Log cabin, a house built from logs * Cottage, a small house * Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof * Cabin, small free-standing structures that serve as i ...

s overlooking Laurel Lake, and a 122-site

campground A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

and a group camping area with 16 sites. *In addition the park has a visitor center with exhibits on the area's historical and natural features, a conference center with restaurant, and an

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

Gallery

File:Breaks Interstate Park sign.jpg File:Breaks Canyon Fall.jpg File:Breaks Canyon; February 2018.jpg File:Cliff at Breaks Canyon.jpg File:Russell Fork- Breaks Interstate Park.jpg, A view of

File:Breaks Interstate Park; Russel Fork; February 2018.jpg,

while flooded

References

External links

Breaks Interstate Park
Breaks Interstate Park Commission
Breaks Interstate Park
Kentucky Department of Parks {{authority control Canyons and gorges of Virginia Canyons and gorges of Kentucky State parks of Kentucky State parks of Virginia Parks in Dickenson County, Virginia Protected areas of Pike County, Kentucky Protected areas established in 1954 1954 establishments in Virginia 1954 establishments in Kentucky George Washington and Jefferson National Forests Landforms of Pike County, Kentucky Landforms of Dickenson County, Virginia Transboundary protected areas