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Photo of the Day

October 20, 2001

Bridge Jump, West Virginia, 1999

Photograph by Susie Post Rust

"On Bridge Day each October you can walk across the New River Gorge Bridge—or jump off. Hundreds of parachutists make the 876-foot [267-meter] leap on the one day it's legal. How much free-fall time is safe? 'You'll hit the water about nine seconds after you jump,' advises Bridge Day enthusiast Bill Von Novak, 'It's a good idea to open your chute before that happens.'"

—From “New River’s Deep Soul,” June 1999, National Geographic magazine