Q 01/05

With over 1,400 established routes, the gorge is one of the East Coast's top spots for which sport?

A) Hang gliding

B) Rock climbing

C) Mountain biking

D) Trail running

Answer · why

B) Rock climbing

Almost every route is a single pitch of 30 to 120 feet on the hard rock band just below the rim.

Q 02/05

Commercial outfitters run trips down the Lower Gorge from April through October doing what?

A) Zip-lining

B) Whitewater rafting

C) Cave touring

D) Gold panning

Answer · why

B) Whitewater rafting

The upper river is gentler, with class I to III water suited to canoeing.

Q 03/05

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is in which U.S. state?

A) Kentucky

B) North Carolina

C) West Virginia

D) Tennessee

Answer · why

C) West Virginia

It runs 53 miles down the gorge from just below Hinton to a state park near Ansted.

Q 04/05

Which mountain system does the gorge cut through?

A) Ozarks

B) Adirondacks

C) Alleghenies of Pennsylvania

D) Appalachians

Answer · why

D) Appalachians

It is billed as the longest and deepest river gorge in that entire range, with more than 1,000 feet of rock exposed from rim to river.

Q 05/05

In what year was the area redesignated from a national river to a national park and preserve?

A) 2004

B) 2013

C) 2016

D) 2020

Answer · why

D) 2020

The change rode along inside a giant year-end spending bill rather than passing as a standalone park law.