Nature & Science

View of mountains from White Rocks.

NPS photo

Carved by wind and water, Cumberland Gap forms a major break in the Appalachian Mountain chain. Stretching for 26 miles along Cumberland Mountain and ranging from 1 to 4 miles in width, the park contains 24,000 acres, of which 14,000 acres is recommended wilderness.

The natural beauty of Appalachian Mountain country, lush with vegetation, supports diverse animal life, including white-tailed deer, black bear, rabbit, raccoon, opossum, gray squirrel, fox, and wild turkey. Park resources provide habitat for two federally endangered species, the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), and two federally threatened species, the blackside dace (Phoxinus cumberlandensis) and the white fringeless orchid (Platanthera integrilabia). Natural resource inventories of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and plants completed in the early 2000s documented 1,212 types of organisms in the park. More than 130 of these are considered rare.

The majority of the park's forest is a second- and third-growth Eastern hardwood and conifer mix, the result of timbering and farming over a 175-year period.

The park protects more than 30 known entries to limestone caves, the best known of which is Gap Cave. Other significant natural features include the Pinnacle, Sand Cave, and White Rocks.

 

A staffmember from the Cumberland Piedmont Network checks a woodrat in a live trap.

NPS photo

Scientific research is key to protecting the natural and cultural wonders of our national parks. To make sound decisions, park managers need accurate information about the resources in their care. They also need to know how park ecosystems change over time, and what amount of change is normal. But park staff can’t do it alone.

Like a physician monitoring a patient's heartbeat and blood pressure, scientists with the Cumberland Piedmont Network collect long-term data on Cumberland Gap’s “vital signs.” They monitor key resources, like cave animals and meteorological conditions, forest vegetation, and water quality. Then they analyze the results and report them to park managers. Knowing how key resources are changing can provide managers with early warning of potential problems. It can also help them to make better decisions and plan more effectively.

But studying park vital signs is only part of the picture. Scientific research is also conducted by park staff, other state and federal scientists, university professors and students, and independent researchers. Because many parks prohibit activities that occur elsewhere, scientists can use the parks as areas for determining the effects of these activities where they do occur. National park lands often serve as the best model for what a relatively undisturbed landscape looks like.

You can learn about recent research or generate a park species list below.

 

 

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  Animals

  Find out which animals visitors might expect to see in the park

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  Plants

  Find out which plants visitors might find in the park

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  Environmental Factors

  Many factors, past and present, influence park ecosystems

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  Natural Features and Ecosystems

  Learn about the park's natural features

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  Cumberland Piedmont Network

  Learn how long-term monitoring provides scientific information for decisionmaking

 

Published Research on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Source: Data Store Saved Search 5539 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

 

Park Species Lists

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Select a Species Category (optional):

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Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.