George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
| George Washington and Jefferson National Forests | |
| U.S. National Forests | |
 White Rocks on Little Sluice Mountain in George Washington National Forest.
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| Country | United States |
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| States | Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia |
| Ranger Districts | Clinch, Eastern Divide, Glenwood-Pedlar, James River, Lee, Mount Rogers, North River, Warm Springs |
| Coordinates | 38°30′0″N 79°0′0″W / 38.50000°N 79.00000°WCoordinates: 38°30′0″N 79°0′0″W / 38.50000°N 79.00000°W |
| Highest point | Mount Rogers |
| - location | Grayson and Smyth Counties, VA |
| - elevation | 5,729 ft (1,746.2 m) |
| - coordinates | 36°39′35″N 81°3′41″W / 36.65972°N 81.06139°W |
| Lowest point | South Fork Shenandoah River |
| - location | southwest of Front Royal, VA |
| - elevation | 513 ft (156.4 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°52′31″N 78°18′34″W / 38.87528°N 78.30944°W |
| Area | 1,790,933 acres (724,764.9 ha) |
| Established | 1995 |
| - George Washington NF | 1918-05-16 |
| - Jefferson NF | 1936-04-21 |
| Owner | US Forest Service |
| IUCN category | VI - Managed Resource Protected Area |
| Headquarters | Roanoke, Virginia |
 Location of George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
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| Website: George Washington and Jefferson National Forests | |
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are U.S. National Forests that combine to form one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. They cover 1.8 million acres (7,300 km2) of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Approximately 1 million acres (4,000 km2) of the forest are remote and undeveloped and 139,461 acres (564 km2) have been designated as wilderness areas, which eliminates future development.
George Washington National Forest was established on May 16, 1918 as the Shenandoah National Forest. The forest was renamed after the first President on June 28, 1932. Natural Bridge National Forest was added on July 22, 1933.
Jefferson National Forest was formed on April 21, 1936 by combining portions of the Unaka and George Washington National Forests with other land. In 1995, the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests were administratively combined. The border between the two forests roughly follows the James River. The combined forest is administered from its headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia.
The Forests' vast and mountainous terrain harbors a great variety of plant life—over 50 species of trees and over 2,000 species of shrubs and herbaceous plants.
The Forests contain some 230,000 acres (930 km2) of old growth forests, representing all of the major forest communities found within them. Locations of old growth include Peters Mountain, Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area, Rich Hole Wilderness, Flannery Ridge, Pick Breeches Ridge, and Laurel Fork Gorge, Pickem Mountain, and Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The Ramsey's Draft and Kimberling Creek Wildernesses in particular are mostly old-growth.
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Wikipedia