Clifty Wilderness is a 13344 acres (54 km²) wilderness area located in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. It was designated wilderness in 1985 and is managed by the Cumberland Ranger District of the Daniel Boone National Forest

Daniel Boone National Forest

Daniel Boone National Forest is the only national forest completely within the boundary of Kentucky. Established in 1937, it was originally named the Cumberland National Forest, after the core region called the Cumberland Purchase Unit...

.

Located within the Red River Gorge

Red River Gorge

The Red River Gorge is a canyon system on the Red River in east-central Kentucky. Geologically, it is part of the Pottsville Escarpment.Much of the Gorge is located inside the Daniel Boone National Forest and has been subsequently reserved as the Red River Gorge Geological Area, an area of around...

 Geological Area, Clifty Wilderness is a rugged area characterized by high cliffs, steep valleys, numerous sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 arches

Natural arch

A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...

, rock shelters, and boulder-strewn creeks.

The Wilderness contains at least 15 sensitive, rare or endangered plant species among more than 750 different flowering plants and 170 species of moss.

Wild and Scenic River

The Wild and Scenic

National Wild and Scenic River

National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States.The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was an outgrowth of the recommendations of a Presidential commission, the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission...

 Red River

Red River (Kentucky)

The Red River is a tributary of the Kentucky River in east-central Kentucky in the United States. Via the Kentucky and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed....

bisects Clifty Wilderness. 9.1 miles (15 km) of the river are designated "wild" and 10.3 miles (17 km) are designated "recreational."

External links

• Clifty Wilderness - Daniel Boone National Forest
• Clifty Wilderness - Wilderness.net
• Clifty Wilderness - GORP
• KYwilderness.com