The Little River and its canyon are located on the Cherokee and Dekalb County lines in Alabama and is one of the newest of the national preserves.  The National Park Service recently bought about 9,000 acres of land from the Alabama Power Company to form the Little River Canyon National Preserve.  Adjacent to the preserve is the state-owned DeSoto State Park.  It is a national preserve since it allows hunting while a national park does not.  Hunting is regulated by the Alabama Game and Fish Division and monitored by the Game and Fish and National Park Service Rangers.  Along with the river and canyon, there is a backcountry accessible only by 19 miles of dirt road with three primitive campsites open from February through September.  There are no charges at the whole preserve except a $2.00/vehicle parking charge at the mouth of the canyon.

•  We will begin at the Little River Bridge parking lot and walk down a trail adjacent to a riparian zone southward for about ten minutes until we are parallel to the Little River Waterfalls.  This is the head of the canyon.  The presentation about the preserve such as the information below will begin here.   Teachers will be asked to note the sandstone which makes up the cap of the Cumberland Plateau on which Lookout Mountain is located and the streamflow cutting through it that is forming the canyon.

• Accompanied by Park Ranger Larry Beane we will hike through just a half mile down through the canyon slope and enjoy the many species of plants, birds, reptiles, mammals,  amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies,  mushrooms and other fauna.

• Many of these species are unique and found only in the preserve so we may not collect any of them.  He will guide us through this activity and  hear about the unique flora and fauna of the area.  He will also talk about the endangered and threatened species that are found in the preserve.

• Along some of the stops, he and I will discuss with the teachers the geology of Lookout Mountain and how the Little River and Canyon were formed.

• We will also be able to find some of the fossils and rocks exposed here were formed more than 300 million years ago.

Also known as "The Little Grand Canyon," or "The Grand Canyon of the South", Little River Canyon is one of the deepest gorges east of the Mississippi River.

The canyon was formed over the eons, by the rushing waters of the Little River as it carved its way through the soft sandstone slabs of the Cumberland Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateaus Province.  The Cumberland is a giant geological formation that covers much of Tennessee and juts into Alabama from the northeast as far south as Tuscaloosa County. Its highest point is the northern end of Lookout Mountain in De Kalb County, about 2,000 feet above sea level.  From here the plateau slopes down to about 500 feet in the south.

•   Along Canyon Rim Drive (Ala. 176) which follows the western rim of Little River Canyon, we will be able to observe waterfalls, whitewaters, boulders, sandstone cliffs and upland forests.   The scenic drive starting at the top of  Lookout Mountain and ending at Canyon Mouth Park is approximately 23 miles.  It takes about two hours to complete by car (see map below).  But it would take a good four hours with stops at each of the overlooks to really be able to enjoy the many spectacular views.  There are also some hairy cliffs and ledges we have to be careful with.

Courtesy of National Park Service.  Unpaginated.  Jamestown, ND:
     Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page.
     http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/chekbird/r4/info.htm
     (Version 22MAY98).

The Little River and the canyon it has formed are two of the most unique geologic features in Alabama.  It is among the longest rivers in the United States that forms and flows most of its entire length on top of a mountain.  It begins at 1900 feet above sea level and traverses on top of Lookout Mountain.  The Little River then plunges off the Cumberland Plateau at the head of the canyon and ends up at Weiss Lake at 650 feet above sea level.  The canyon's elevations range from 560 to 1752 feet above sea level.  When you stand at the edge of the rim of the canyon and peer down, you will see Little River as a narrow ribbon of water zig-zagging through the canyon.  The canyon is more than 20 miles and plunges 900 feet down at its deepest point.  Its width varies from one half mile to a mile and a half.

• How is it that the Little River can flow on top of Lookout Mountain for most of its length which is atypical of rivers?  Here's why:

Lookout Mountain area is within the Appalachian Plateaus and the Ridge and Valley systems.  Mountain ridges and valleys trending in a northeast-southwest direction characterize the Ridge and Valley Province and this is where stratified rocks are highly inclined.  Along the magins of Lookout Mountain, some of the strata are sharply upturned.  The valley structure results from the folding and faulting of the Paleozoic rocks that form the base of Lookout Mountain.  The bulk of the area which falls in the Appalachian Plateau province exhibits only minor deformation.

Little River is free-flowing, its flow being under the direct control of the amount of precipitation on the mountain.  There are no dams, anthropogenic channels or other man-made structures influencing the flow of water in the canyon.  During some dry summers, the water flow could be just a trickle.  But a little bit of rain in these mountains means a lot of water rushing through the narrow canyon walls.  And a lot of rainfall can quickly change the white caps of the water into a thunderous surging river.

According to Park Ranger Larry Beane,  Little River is noted for being pure and unpolluted.  It begins its journey along the top of Lookout Mountain through an upland forest then it plunges 45 feet at the Little River Falls just south of the bridge at Ala. 35. . The canyon begins at the falls where we started our trip.  As it starts its descent down the mountain, the river picks up speed and carves its way through one of the deepest gorges in the eastern United States.  It continues to carve the sandstone even today.

The river and canyon have become a unique habitat for many endangered and threatened species.   Most of it is protected as the Little River Canyon National Preserve when Congress added the canyon and river  to the National Park  System in 1992.  The preserve covers 14,000 mountainous acres and protects 35 miles of the Little River and its surrounding feeder streams and gorges.  The Little River watershed covers 199 square miles of critical habitat for unique species of plants and animals such as carnivorous green pitcher plants, green salamanders, the endangered blue shiner fish, and Kral's water plantains, an aquatic herb only found in this river ecosystem.

The views along the canyon is spectacular any time of year.  The uplands and canyon slopes are covered with hardwoods such as American Beach, hickories, yellow poplar,  black gum, and oaks.  Under the canopy are under story trees including flowering dogwood, huckleberries, sourwood, and sassafras. 

On the forest floor, ferns and mosses abound.

Wildflowers can be found blooming for most of the year.
Depending on the time of year, you may see cascades of  fall colors, brilliant golden and white daisies, wild azaleas, mountain laurel or Catawba rhodondendron. 
 

• Our overlook stops include:  Little River Falls Overlook, Lynn Overlook, Hawks Glide, Canyon View, Wolf Creek, Crow Point, Grace's High Falls, Eberhart Point and Weaver Overlook.  Just past Lynn Overlook is where we will hike down through a three-quarter mile trail to Beaver Pond where we should see some beaver dams and a variety of bird nests.

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The canyon and river ecosystems support many migrant and temperate zone birds, including the Southern bald eagle and other predatory birds.  According to the National Park Service, there are close to 100 bird species found in the preserve, many of which are threatened or endangered.

The American peregrine falcon,  vultures and hawks can be seen flying over Hawk's Glide overlook. In the early evening, the Indiana bat may be observed.

  Within the gorge one can find a number of sandstone walls measuring from 30 to 80 feet.  The angle of overhang varies from just over vertical (say 75 to 80 degrees) to really overhanging (45 to 30 degrees).

• Throughout the overlook stops, the Pottsville sandstone cap over Lookout Mountain can be observed.

• One of the last  stops before we are driven down to the canyon's mouth is an overlook that will give as a view of this falls that only trickles in the summer but is a torrent in the spring and winter.

• Little River flows out of the canyon as it leaves Lookout Mountain at Canyon Mouth Park. This day-use facility requires a fee of $2.00 per vehicle and provides opportunities for hiking, picnicking, tubing, swimming, or simply relaxing near the water.  It is here where we will sein net and snorkle to observe the fish and other aquatic animals that are found in Little River.

• One final fact to know: The soils on top of Lookout Mountain are shallow and do not provide enough filtering of sewage wastewater when regular septic tank drainage fields are used.  To avoid groundwater pollution, the Park Service developed an unconventional filtering system.  Sewage wastewater from the bathrooms in the day park are filtered through peat moss.  The photo shows the green covered boxes containing the peat moss.  This system costs about the same as a conventional drainage system but takes up less space and benefits the environment.

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