Watkins Glen State Park

Watkins Glen
State Park
Rainbow Bridge and Falls
Name origin: Samuel Watkins
Country	United States
State	New York
Region	Finger Lakes
Counties	Schuyler
City	Watkins Glen
Landmark	Rainbow Bridge and Falls
River	Glen Creek
Area	1.216 sq mi (3 km2)
Founded	December 27, 1906
Management	New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Owner	State of New York
For public	yes
Easiest access	car
Website: http://parks.ny.gov/parks/142/details.aspx

Coordinates: 42°22′37″N 76°52′18″W / 42.377059°N 76.871687°W / 42.377059; -76.871687

Watkins Glen State Park is located outside the village of Watkins Glen, south of Seneca Lake in Schuyler County in New York's Finger Lakes region. The park's lower part is near the village, while the upper part is open woodland. It was opened to the public in 1863 and was privately run as a tourist resort until 1906, when it was purchased by New York State. Initially known as Watkins Glen State Reservation, the park was first managed by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society before being turned over to full state control in 1911. Since 1924, it has been managed by the Finger Lakes Region of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The centerpiece of the 778-acre (3.15 km²) park is a 400-foot-deep (120 m) narrow gorge cut through rock by a stream – Glen Creek – that was left hanging when glaciers of the Ice age deepened the Seneca valley, increasing the tributary stream gradient to create rapids and waterfalls wherever there were layers of hard rock. The rocks of the area are sedimentary of Devonian age that are part of a dissected plateau that was uplifted with little faulting or distortion. They consist mostly of soft shales, with some layers of harder sandstone and limestone.