The Little River

   

National Park Service Literature for Little River Canyon

DeSoto State Park Dining Facility - Structure Formerly Used for Lodging - Built by the CCC

The Little River Canyon National Preserve is a part of the National Park Service lands.  The site works in partnership with the Alabama state park system. The park is within the Valley and Ridge province of northeastern Alabama, a part of the Appalachian-Alleghanian range.
The Little River Canyon Preserve has basal Pennsylvanian sedimentary rocks of the Pottsville Formation. The lower portions of this unit contain massive, conglomeratic, quartz-rich sandstone, shale, coal, and mudstone beds.  Little River Canyon is incised through the Lookout Mountain syncline. This eroded broad syncline slopes gently towards the southwest and has approximately one thousand feet of topographic relief.   The Little River flows through the valley atop the Lookout Mountain area providing habitat for eastern plants and animals. 

The area was a place for nature viewing going back to at least the CCC days in the 1930s.  The banks of the valleys are alive with many plants especially mountain laurel and Catawba rhododendron.  Carnivorous pitcher plants are rare but can be seen in the forested areas.