By Janey Fugate About 500 million years ago, shallow seas teeming with marine life covered what today are Rockbridge and Botetourt counties. Since then, the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains have risen and a temperate forest environment has evolved where once an ocean existed. After the seas receded, subterranean streams eroded caves, eventually leaving behind Continue Reading →
By Janey Fugate For many people, climate change is more a political debate than a threat to survival, confined to remote international conferences, agency reports, White House pronouncements and posturing by Congress. But the issue is becoming more real to Rockbridge County residents. The area’s ecosystem, and even Natural Bridge, are at risk as the Continue Reading →
[doptg id=”2″] The human history of Natural Bridge is long and varied. For centuries it has been the heart of a Monacan Indian legend, it was owned by Thomas Jefferson, and it was the epitome of the sublime for American Romantic painters. But its ecological heritage is at least as significant. With the bridge and Continue Reading →