Fact- Not many rivers can lay claim to the fact that they are older than the mountains wherein their course lies. Most rivers that have their beginning in mountains, slide off their crest and then follow at the base of the mountains. That is not true with the New. Its two forks converge in North Carolina and then continue to stay within the crest of the Appalachians throughout the river's duration--basically, eroding and cutting through the middle of the mountains as they rose up. Many scientists believe that when the Appalachian Mountains were formed, the New River simply rose up with the mountains, and that is why the New River remains in the crest of the mountains. Many scientists also believe that the Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world. It is possible that the New River is older than any mountain range in the entire world. Finally, the New River's mountain contorting course has exposed rocks that are over 1 billion years old.
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