Rivers & Forests

Southwest Virginia is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth.

The roots for that diversity go back millions of years, when tectonic shifts and erosion created three very different geologic regions.

In the center is the New River — one of the oldest rivers in the world, which flows north, funneling cold winds into the region. Here you will find creatures like bog turtles and cranberries living in areas more typical of the north.

The Clinch, Holston, and Powell rivers flow toward the southwest, and warmer weather flows up the river basins. Far southwest Virginia has many southern plants and animals that you would see only in the coastal plain. Southern species also predominate to the east of the Blue Ridge, where the Dan and its tributaries flow south and east.

Birdwatching

Many species of warblers make their home in Southwest Virginia. Hawks, eagles and falcons pass through on their journeys north and south.

Within those regions, altitude and rainfall create thousands of micro-climates where both southern and northern species live side by side. A drive up a mountain is a procession of climates, because each thousand feet of altitude is like traveling 600 miles north. Some of our highest mountains resemble Canada.

Near Saltville, salt marshes mimic coastal wetlands and nurture salt-loving plants and animals you'd expect to find near the ocean, not in a mountain valley.

Long straight ridges of mountains, like the Clinch and Powell, create uplifts in the atmosphere that serve as migratory through-ways for hawks, eagles and other birds.

Near Whitetop and Mount Rogers, rhododendrons flourish, dominating regrowth on the mountains where logging and burning stripped the land a century ago.

Further west, the Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve in Russell County supports a host of rare plant and animal species. The Lee County Cedar Glades and their associated caves are home to animals and plants found nowhere else on earth.

Throughout Southwest Virginia, you'll find people, old and young, working together to preserve, protect and interpret fragile and unique ecosystems.

We have hundreds of thousands of acres of state and national parks, forests and nature preserves for you to explore. Follow a Wildlife and Birding Trail. Attend a naturalist rally. Take a walk in the woods… climb a mountain… or float down a river. Get ready for a surprise — an adventure — and a new appreciation of nature.