Editing Letchworth State Park (section)

==Features and activities==
[[File:Letchworthwiki.jpg|thumb|left|View of Middle Falls at Letchworth State Park]]
[[File:Map - Letchworth State Park - overview.png|thumb|left|Map of Letchworth State Park and surrounding area.]]
Park entrances are located near [[Mount Morris (village), New York|Mount Morris]], [[Perry (village), New York|Perry]], [[Castile (town), New York|Castile]] and [[Portageville, New York|Portageville]]. A paved two or three-lane road follows the west side of the gorge, allowing many scenic viewpoints for the geologic features.

The park includes pavilions, picnic tables, playgrounds, {{convert|66|mi}} of hiking trails, two large swimming pools, cabins, campsites for tents, trailer sites with dumping stations, and horse-riding trails. Activities within the park include [[hiking]], [[biking]], [[fishing]], [[whitewater rafting]] and [[kayaking]], [[geocaching]], and hunting ([[wild turkey]] and [[deer]] when in season). During the winter, the park facilitates [[snowmobiling]], [[cross-country skiing]], [[snow tubing]], and horse-drawn sleighs. [[Hot air ballooning]] is available at the park, weather permitting.<ref name="official"/>

In 2015, Letchworth State Park won [[USA Today|''USA Today'''s]] Reader's Choice competition as the best state park in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=Letchworth State Park Wins Readers' Choice|url=http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-state-park/#thumbnail-2621-click|access-date=April 2, 2015|work=10Best|publisher=USA Today}}</ref> In 2020 the park topped a similar list.<ref name= homeToGo >[https://www.chron.com/local/article/Two-Texas-state-parks-top-the-list-of-20-best-15421238.php Alison Medley (July 20, 2020 ) Two Texas state parks top the list of 20 best state parks in U.S., new ranking says]</ref>

===Waterfalls and geology===
[[File:Lower Fall & Stone footbridge at Letchworth State Park, New York, USA.jpg|thumb|left|Lower Falls and stone footbridge at Letchworth State Park]]
Within the park, there are three large [[waterfall]]s on the Genesee River and as many as 50 waterfalls found on tributaries that flow into it; the deep [[gorge]] formed by the river, with rock walls rising up to {{convert|550|ft|m}} in places and which narrow to {{convert|400|ft|m}} across above the middle of the three falls, prompted the area's reputation as the "[[Grand Canyon]] of the East".<ref name="official"/> The three major waterfalls &mdash; called the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls &mdash; are located in Portage Canyon, the southern section of the park. The only trail bridging the Genesee River in the park crosses a stone bridge just below the Lower Falls. The Middle Falls is the highest, and the Upper Falls has a recently-built (2017) [[Genesee Arch Bridge|active Norfolk Southern Railway arch bridge]] crossing immediately above it, replacing a historic 1875 Erie Railroad bridge.

The park also contains Inspiration Falls, a ribbon waterfall that is located on a tributary creek a short distance east of the Inspiration Point Overlook, {{convert|0.4|mi|m}} west of the park visitor center.  It has a total drop of {{convert|350|ft}}. While impressive in its height, it is seasonal and often appears as only a water stain on the cliff.  The falls faces to the south-southwest and has a crest that is {{convert|1|ft|mm|spell=in}} wide.

[[File:Genesee.JPG|thumb|right|View of the Genesee River and gorge]]
The [[Rock (geology)|bedrock]] exposed in the gorge is [[Devonian]] in age, mostly [[shale]]s, with some layers of [[limestone]] and [[sandstone]]. The rock was laid down in an ancient inland sea, and it holds many marine [[fossil]]s. The [[landform]] of the section of the Genesee River valley represented by the park is geologically very young, caused by a [[Glacial geology of the Genesee River|diversion of the river from the old valley by the last continental glacier]], which forced the river to cut a new section of valley.

===Historic sites and museums===
The historic, restored [[Glen Iris Inn]], [[William Pryor Letchworth]]'s former residence adapted for use as a hotel, is located on the top of a cliff overlooking Middle Falls and offers in-season meals and overnight accommodations.<ref name="ap" /> It is open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The park is the present-day site of the grave of [[Mary Jemison]], a Scots-Irish immigrant pioneer who was captured at the age of 12 from central Pennsylvania by a French and [[Shawnee]] raiding party during the [[French and Indian War]]. She was soon adopted by a family of [[Seneca people]], and eventually lived in western New York on the Genesee River. She became thoroughly assimilated and chose to live with the Seneca for the rest of her long life, having a total of seven children by two successive husbands. Her remains were exhumed from the Buffalo Creek Reservation and reinterred on the grounds of a Seneca Council House, relocated to the site by Letchworth and rededicated in 1872.<ref name=LSP_hist_Council>{{cite web|url=http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/councilgr.html |title=Glimpses of the Past - The Council Grounds |website=Exploring Letchworth Park History |first=Tom |last=Cook |access-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>

The park also features the William Pryor Letchworth Museum, which was founded with the collections of the park's founder.  The exhibits focus on the natural and cultural history of the Genesee Valley, and include archaeological artifacts of the [[Seneca nation]], and displays on Mary Jemison, early pioneers, the [[Genesee Valley Canal]] and William Pryor Letchworth.

The Humphrey Nature Center opened in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Humphrey Nature Center opens at Letchworth |url=http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2016/06/22/humphrey-nature-center-opens-letchworth/86171050/ |newspaper=Democrat & Chronicle |author=Freile, Victoria E. |access-date=July 6, 2016 |date=June 22, 2016}}</ref> Operated year-round by New York State, the {{convert|5000|sqft|adj=on}} sustainable building features classrooms and meeting rooms, a research lab, a butterfly garden, and connections to various trails.<ref>{{cite web |title=Humphrey Nature Center finally opens its doors |url=http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/bdn01/humphrey-nature-center-finally-opens-its-doors-20160621 |newspaper=The Daily News |author=Leathersich, Joe |access-date=July 6, 2016 |date=June 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624035056/http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/bdn01/humphrey-nature-center-finally-opens-its-doors-20160621 |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Mount Morris Dam===
[[File:Mount Morris Dam.JPG|thumb|Mount Morris Dam]]
{{main|Mount Morris Dam}}
Construction of the [[Mount Morris Dam]], at the north end of the park, was begun in 1948 by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] under the [[Flood Control Act of 1944]], and completed in 1954.<ref name=USACE_MMD>{{cite web |url=http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Mount-Morris-Dam/Project-History/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019151911/http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Mount-Morris-Dam/Project-History/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |title=Mount Morris Dam Project History |publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District |access-date=October 21, 2016}}</ref> The Genesee River became wider and deeper immediately upstream as a result, but areas downstream were spared yearly flooding which destroyed valuable farmland.

The Mount Morris Dam is the largest flood control device of its kind (concrete gravity) east of the [[Mississippi River]]. It is {{convert|1028|ft|m}} in length and rises {{convert|230|ft|m}} from the riverbed.<ref name=NYWEA>{{cite web |url=http://www.nywea.org/clearwaters/07-2-summer/08-geneseeriver.pdf |title=The Genesee River Drainage Basin, Gorge and Mount Morris Dam |work=Clearwaters |publisher=New York Water Environment Association |date=Summer 2007 |author=Hennigan, Robert D. |access-date=February 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070824/http://www.nywea.org/clearwaters/07-2-summer/08-geneseeriver.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  The dam proved its worth during the [[Hurricane Agnes|Flood of 1972]], saving thousands of acres of farmland and the city of [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]] from flooding.

===Portage Viaduct===
[[Image:Upper Falls in Letchworth 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Upper Falls with a train passing over the old Portage Viaduct]]
{{main|Portage Viaduct}}

The Portage Viaduct (1875) was an iron Erie Railroad bridge located upstream and within view of the park's Upper Falls. The bridge was {{convert|820|ft|m}} long and {{convert|240|ft|m}} high.<ref name=LSP_hist_Walker>{{cite web|url=http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/walkerbacklist.html |title=Pieces of the Past - A Walker Stereocard Label circa 1875 |website=Exploring Letchworth Park History |first1=Tom |last1=Cook |first2=Tom |last2=Breslin |access-date=February 26, 2016}}</ref> Although walking on the structure was considered trespassing, visitors to the park commonly disregarded warning signs in order to view the gorge from the bridge, despite the safety concerns associated with walking on an active railroad bridge.<ref name=demolish>{{cite web |url=http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article651143.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101035149/http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article651143.ece |archive-date=January 1, 2012 |title=Historic Letchworth bridge is on the edge of elimination |newspaper=The Buffalo News |date=November 27, 2011 |author=Sommer, Mark |access-date=February 27, 2016}}</ref>

On November 29, 2011, [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] announced plans to demolish the Portage Viaduct and build a new bridge approximately {{convert|75|ft|m}} to the south of the 1875 structure. Norfolk Southern had offered the old bridge to the State of New York, but the offer was declined due to a lack of available funds to convert the bridge into an observation platform.<ref name=demolish/> A steel arch design was approved for the bridge's replacement in late 2014, at an estimated cost of $71 million.<ref name=D&C_BridgeApprove>{{cite web |url=http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/12/30/new-railroad-bridge-approved-letchworth-park/21059581/ |title=New railroad bridge approved for Letchworth park |newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle |date=December 30, 2014 |author=McDermott, Meaghan M. |access-date=February 28, 2016}}</ref> The project was completed in late 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|last=SURTEL|first=MATT|title=Genesee Arch Bridge makes the big time|url=https://www.thelcn.com/news/local/genesee-arch-bridge-makes-the-big-time/article_e8cc5e4e-e3ed-5e91-8096-ee32b13a1961.html|access-date=2021-05-07|website=Livingston County News|language=en}}</ref> New train-activated gates at both ends of the new bridge now keep trespassing tourists off it when no approaching freight train is present.