Red River Gorge: An Astronomer in the Arches

When visitors to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter comment on Kentucky’s beauty, most of them have in mind Lexington’s Bluegrass region with hills and horse farms surrounded by white wooden fences. But this state holds far more beauty—in fact, Kentucky features my favorite place on earth.

Photo by Dr. Danny R. Faulkner

As an astronomer at Answers in Genesis (AiG) in Northern Kentucky, I regularly discuss the wonders of the heavens. But on the days that I feel most in awe of God’s creation, I’m not looking at the sky at all. I’m hiking in a place just southeast of the Kentucky Bluegrass called Red River Gorge.

While I was growing up in southwest Ohio, my family frequently visited my grandmother who lived in Menifee County, Kentucky, just inside the Cumberland Plateau. As we drove across the eastern Bluegrass, I noticed ahead that hills abruptly poked up a couple hundred feet. A few years ago, I learned that this stark boundary between the Bluegrass and the plateau is the Pottsville escarpment (a steep slope usually separating land at varying heights). As we crossed the escarpment, the highway ascended a hill—and everything changed. The land turned rugged and heavily forested, unlike the Bluegrass’s rolling landscape.

Red River Wonder

Nearly a half century ago, my parents moved back to Menifee County where I spent the following summer between my sophomore and junior years of college. That summer, I discovered a majestic place, a network of canyons called Red River Gorge.

The Red River Gorge Geological Area (RRGGA) is a 29,000-acre reserve of the Daniel Boone National Forest that has not been timbered for years and probably never will be again. Numerous hiking trails run through the rugged landscape, and rock climbers flock to its cliffs. And then there are the arches.

As a child, I first encountered arches when my parents took me to Natural Bridge State Resort Park, a crown jewel of the Kentucky State Park system. This 2,300-acre park, south of the RRGGA, features Natural Bridge, one of the largest and most beautiful arches in the gorge. The summer I lived in Menifee County, I made my first trip through the RRGGA. I checked out the rock formations called Sky Bridge and Chimney Top. But I stopped in my tracks when I saw Rock Bridge—an arch with Swift Camp Creek flowing under it. From that first encounter, I was hooked on arches and made several trips to Red River that summer, seeking new wonders.

Over the next decade, while visiting my parents, I often ventured into Red River. During this time, I read that the gorge hosts about 100 arches. But only about 10 had signs and marked trails. If I wanted to visit all 100 arches, I would have to discover the other 90 myself.

Photo by Dr. Danny R. Faulkner

Back to the Gorge

At last, I could realize my dream of visiting all the arches in Red River.

After my life circumstances changed, I didn’t visit the gorge for 30 years. Then a decade ago, I started working for AiG in Northern Kentucky, only a two-hour drive from Red River. A few years back, a hiking buddy and I began making day trips to the gorge. At last, I could realize my dream of visiting all the arches in Red River. Advancements in technolgy have aided my quest with online and digital resources and GPS devices. But the number of known arches in the gorge has increased. Though no one knows the exact number, experts believe Red River probably boasts about 1,000 arches—the second largest concentration in the United States (exceeded only by Arches National Park in Utah with 2,000 arches). My personal count is now around 250. I have a long way to go.

Along the way, I’ve developed a five-point rating system to describe the many arches I’ve encountered. Larger arches generally receive higher ratings, but I also consider beauty and symmetry. Maybe one day I’ll publish my guide to help other explorers enjoy this stunning part of God’s creation.

The Mystery and Majesty

In addition to finding the arches beautiful, I’m intrigued by their mystery, maybe because, as an astronomer, I’m used to unsolved mysteries (for example, what exactly is dark matter?). Red River’s arches are mysterious because we don’t really know when and how they formed. As a biblical creationist, I believe the global flood laid down the Corbin Sandstone in which most Red River Gorge arches are found. We know that the Cumberland Plateau and Pottsville escarpment where the gorge is located were eroded, but was that erosion during late stages of the flood or shortly after the flood? Did the arches form during this erosion or a bit later? Unfortunately, flood geologists have many landforms to interpret. In time, perhaps they will thoroughly investigate Red River Gorge and give us some answers.

Photo by Dr. Danny R. Faulkner

We don’t have to hold all the answers to the mysteries of the universe in order to wonder at—and wander in—God’s creation. Find your own favorite spots—or visit mine! Red River is just two hours from the Creation Museum. When you come, why not spend a day or two exploring the arches in my favorite place in the world?