
The nation’s first federally protected stream (1972), the Buffalo River flows roughly 150 miles and includes nearly 95,000 acres of public land along its corridor. The stream descends nearly 2,000 feet through layers of sandstone, limestone, and chert. One immediately obvious result is its many bluffs—the highest in all the Ozark Mountains. Hidden away, ready for discovery, are other geologic marvels—springs, caves, waterfalls, natural bridges, and box-like canyons, where trails are abundant.