[1] These acts will prevent all further development in the peninsula area.

[2] The peninsula is created by a meander in the Youghiogheny River which flows north into Pennsylvania from West Virginia and Maryland carrying seeds from that region.

The warmer microclimate inside the river gorge allows these plants to survive.

[2] It is a good example of a late successional forest in the Allegheny Mountains.

The edge of Ferncliff Peninsula Natural Area is rimmed with a 2 mile loop hiking trail of moderate difficulty that features prehistoric plant fossils along the eastern edge near Ohiopyle Falls.