Cliff at the Loess Bluff stop on the Natchez Trace Parkway
The soil at the southern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway is known as “loess” (pronounced LOW-ess), a sandy soil formed during the last Ice Age when wind blew dust from the western plains of the United States to create a 3- to 30-mile strip east of the Mississippi River that runs from Baton Rouge into Tennessee. The soil layer is 30 to 90 feet deep. Its softness is evident along the Natchez Trace where deep gullies were formed as people, horses, and wagons wore paths into the trail, effectively sinking the road as deep as ten feet in places.
Here at the Loess Bluff pullout is a cliff that gives a great cutaway view of the sandy soil layer. If you walk towards the back of the property you will also notice beach-like sand in and surrounding the river bed (when dry).
Sandy soil at the southern end of the Natchez Trace
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Last updated on December 13, 2021
