The Natural Arch Scenic Area within the Daniel Boone National Forest in southern Kentucky features a massive 100-foot-wide, 45-foot-high sandstone arch—one of the largest in the state. Considered sacred to the Cherokee Native American tribe, the arch has been protected by a fence built of red cedar—a tree honored by the Cherokee.
Because of its natural and cultural significance, the arch and surrounding 945 acres were protected as a scenic area in 1961. Although severe winter ice storms in 1994 and 1998 severely damaged trees at the site, and more recent intrusions by the southern pine beetle have further damaged local ecology, it still remains a mostly intact landscape.
