Breaks Interstate Park, also known as "the Breaks," 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 "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

located partly in southeastern

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and southwestern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in the Jefferson National Forest, at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain. The land is managed by an

interstate compact In the United States, an interstate compact is a pact or agreement between two or more states, or between states and any foreign sub-national government. Description Most early interstate compacts resolved boundary disputes, but since the earl ...

between the states of Virginia and Kentucky. It is one of two interstate parks in the United States operated jointly under a compact rather than as two separate state park units. The

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is a Ministry (government department), department of the government of Virginia, United States; it oversees all List of Virginia state parks, Virginia state parks and Virginia Natural Area Pre ...

and the Kentucky Department of Parks are still major partner organizations. Breaks Interstate Park has been called the "Grand Canyon of the South".

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 company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

Kingsport Subdivision) both pass through it. It is accessed via Virginia 80 and Kentucky 80 between Haysi, Virginia, and

Elkhorn City, Kentucky Elkhorn City is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Pike County, Kentucky, Pike County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 1,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located in proximity to ...

, 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 Russell Fork gradually carved through the rock to form the spectacular valleys. Early human activity saw the area serve as hunting grounds for

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

people. In 1767, American frontiersman

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 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 beyo ...

passed through the area looking for an easier westward passage through Pine Mountain. Boone subsequently gave the area its current name, The Breaks. Preparations have been made to provide elk viewing areas. Elk were seen near the park in 2023 for the first time since the 1800s.

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 Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, nearby Elkhorn City has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Activities

The park provides hiking trails, as well as fishing, paddle boating, canoeing, and hydro biking on Laurel Lake, and white-water rafting on the Russell Fork. Rock climbing with sandstone similar to the nearby

New River Gorge The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a national rive ...

. A lodge, cottages and a campground are available. 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 ( U.S. English: amphitheater) 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 ('), meaning "place for vie ...

. Elk viewing opportunities are available through seasonal guided bus tours of the areas where the Rocky Mountain elk was introduced as a replacement for the extinct Eastern elk.

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 United States interstate compacts