Sometimes referred to as "God's Thumbprint" because of its view from the air, this mountain-ringed bowl is 10 miles in diameter and filled with some of the most fertile farmland in the state. The area, which is the highest mountain valley in Virginia, was designated a National and Virginia Rural Historical District. The community can be viewed from the Appalachian Trail or by car from state route 623. Visitors can buy baked goods and vegetables, bike on area roads, hike and hunt in nearby Jefferson National Forest. First discovered in the 1740's by James Burke while hunting in the area. The name "Burke's Garden" was given to the valley as a joke in 1748 after Burke planted potato peelings by the campfire of a 1748 surveying party. The next year, a fine crop of potatoes was found.