The Mianus River Gorge is a nature preserve in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, New York jointly owned by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

and Mianus River Gorge, Inc.. The first were purchased by the Preserve, with help from the Conservancy, their first land preservation deal. It has grown over the years and is still managed by Mianus River Gorge, Inc. In March 1964, it was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

for its old growth climax hemlock forest and the gorge of the

Mianus River The Mianus River is a river in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the United States. It begins in the town of North Castle, New York (east of Armonk) in a series of ponds at about altitude. Flowing northeast ...

History

In 1954, Gloria and Anthony Anable reached out for help from The Nature Conservancy which pledged $7,500 to help purchase of land in the gorge, its first land preservation purchase. In 1990, were donated as part of a development deal. In 2007, The Nature Conservancy purchased of adjacent wetlands to protect the gorge and its watershed.

Geology

The gorge is a

periglacial Periglaciation (adjective: "periglacial", also referring to places at the edges of glacial areas) describes geomorphic processes that result from seasonal thawing of snow in areas of permafrost, the runoff from which refreezes in ice wedges and o ...

formation, carved by streams as the glacier retreated. It contains several types of bedrock including Bedford Augen Gneiss (an

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

intrusion from the Late Devonian period), Hartland Schist, Precambrian and Cambrian

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

and quartzite.

Cameron's Line Cameron's Line is an Ordovician suture fault in the northeast United States which formed as part of the continental collision known as the Taconic orogeny around 450 mya. Named after Eugene N. Cameron, who first described it in the 1950s, it ...

passes through the preserve. The old Hobby Hill pegmatite quarry is located in the northern section of the preserve. The Havenmeyer Falls is also part of the preserve.

Wildlife and vegetation

In 2003, the Preserve began to manage its

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

population via limited

bow hunting Bowhunting (or bow hunting) is the practice of hunting game animals by archery. Many indigenous peoples have employed the technique as their primary hunting method for thousands of years, and it has survived into contemporary use for sport and h ...

. They did so to decrease the risk of excessive deer populations causing damage to the vegetation. They believed that very small scale reductions could effectively manage the population without adversely affecting neighboring populations due to the rose petal hypothesis of deer populations. There are numerous species of trees, shrubs, vines, herbs, and ferns within the preserve.

Access

The preserve is open from April 1 to November 30, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are approximately of well-marked hiking trails.USGS Summary of park
/ref> Mianus River

References

External links

Mianus River Gorge, Inc.The Nature Conservancy: Mianus River Gorge PreserveTrail map
{{authority control National Natural Landmarks in New York (state) Nature Conservancy preserves in New York (state) Protected areas of Westchester County, New York Nature reserves in New York (state)