"All of this offers
exceptional opportunity
for developimg a great
national recreational
park of outstanding
service in the very
heart of our nation's
densest population."
Southern Applachian National Parks Coommission
The Green River below, thses forested
hills, and the cave underneath all
inspired the members of the Southern
Appalachian National Park Commission
in 1922 to propose a new National Park
in Kentucky.
Following their mandate to search for
new parklands, they choose the "great
underground labyrinth, "the areas
apparently original forest, " and "the
beautiful and navigable Green River
and its branch the Nolin River"
worthy to rank with such treasures
Shenandoah and the Great Smoky
Mountains.
Through the efforts of the State
Legislature, the Mammouth Cave
National Park Association and
countless local citizens
parcels of land were aquried for
Mammouth Cave National Park
Established in 1941.
Today the park comprises 52,830 acres. More
than 70 miles of hiking trails provide access to
a range of forest communities containing some
84 species of tree and more than 1,000 species of
flowering plants. The Green River possesses one of the
most diverse fish and mussel populations in North America.
The World Responds
World Heritage Site
October 27, 1983
Biosphere Reserve February 7, 1990
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