Creelsboro Natural Bridge

{{Short description|Natural bridge in southwestern Russell County, Kentucky, United States}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox park | name = Creelsboro Natural Bridge | image = Creelsboro Natural Arch.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = | image_size = 300px | map = USA Kentucky | map_alt = | map_caption = Map of [[Kentucky]] | map_size = | location = [[Russell County, Kentucky|Russell County]], [[Kentucky]] | nearest_city = [[Creelsboro, Kentucky|Creelsboro]] | coordinates = {{coord|36|53|05.97|N|85|14|11.13|W|region:US-KY|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coords_ref = | area = | refnum = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = | url = | module = {{designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = NNL | designation1_date = 1987 }} }} '''Creelsboro Natural Bridge''' (more commonly referred to as '''Rock House''' or '''the Rockhouse''') is a [[natural arch|natural bridge]] in southwestern [[Russell County, Kentucky]], United States. It is located near the community of [[Creelsboro, Kentucky|Creelsboro]], approximately {{Convert|11|mi}} downstream from [[Wolf Creek Dam]], which impounds [[Lake Cumberland]]. The Rockhouse is classified as a ''[[meander]]'' natural bridge because it was created by river erosion of a cliff on the outer side of a sharp meander in the river. Jim Creek, an intermittent stream, runs through it before flowing into the [[Cumberland River]]. With a span of {{Convert|104|ft}}, it is the seventh largest natural bridge in the United States and the largest in the Eastern U.S.

==History== The Creelsboro Natural Bridge consists of Upper [[Ordovician|Ordovician Period]] [[silt]]y [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] of the [[Cumberland Formation (Kentucky)|Cumberland Formation]]. Unlike most natural bridges it is made of [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] rather than [[sandstone]], which generally comes from later geologic ages. First discovered in 1770 by a group of [[hunting|hunters]], Rockhouse is a popular site for [[camping]]. It was designated a [[National Natural Landmark]] by the [[United States|U.S.]] [[National Park Service]] in 1987.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=CREE-KY |title= Creelsboro Natural Bridge |publisher= National Park Service |work= nps.gov |access-date= 2013-03-11 |archive-date= 2013-03-05 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130305064603/http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/site.cfm?Site=CREE-KY |url-status= live }}</ref> It remains privately owned but is accessible by a short walk from KY 379. Immediately across the river in Clinton County is the private Rockhouse Trace subdivision.

==See also== [[File:Creelsboro Natural Bridge.jpg|thumb|inside view of Creelsboro Bridge Natural arch]] * [[Kentucky Geological Survey]] * {{annotated link|Rock shelter}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.naturalarches.org/gallery-KY-Creelsboro.htm Creelsboro Natural Bridge] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20061019045143/http://kymartian.ky.gov/gqmaps/ Kentucky Geological Survey GQMAPS, S36]

[[Category:Natural arches of Kentucky]] [[Category:National Natural Landmarks in Kentucky]] [[Category:Landforms of Russell County, Kentucky]]