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ALBEMARLE SOUND LOW SHORELINE 

 NATURAL AREA INVENTORY 



Basic Information Summary Sheet : 



1 . Natural Area Name 

 Albemarle Sound Low Shoreline 



2 . County 

 Tyrrell 



3. Location: From Columbia, proceed north on County Road 1209 until 

 it junctions with County Road 1120. Turn left and follow 1220 to 

 the Albemarle Sound. The area starts here and extends eastward and 

 southward along the shore to the mouth of Alligator Creek. It can 

 be approached at its eastern end on County Road 1223. See Figures 

 1 and 19. 



4. Topographic quadrangle: 



Fort Landing - 7.5 min. 

 Columbia East - 7.5 min. 



5. Size: 1,633 acres 



6. Elevation: 1-3 feet 



7. Access: Along County Roads 1209, 1220, 1225, 1223 and a few, 

 unnumbered dirt roads. See Figure 20. 



8. Names of Investigators: 



Charles B. McDonald, East Carolina University 

 Andrew N. Ash, East Carolina University 



9. Date(s) of investigation: 5/7-8/80 



9A. Prose description of site 



The Albemarle Sound low shoreline is an example of estuarine 

 low shoreline. This length of shoreline and its accompanying sand 

 spit make it extremely interesting geologically. The sand spit is 

 temporarily stabilized by a fresh water marsh dominated by Typha 

 spp. This marsh is one of the two large marshes in Tyrrell County. 

 As such it may be of some regional significance. The soils on 

 which it is found are histosols covering sand and silt. This marsh 

 is probably flooded most of the time and may represent a climax for 

 the site. 



The forest behind the shoreline is dominated by loblolly pine 

 (Pinus taeda ) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styracif lua ) growing on 

 histosols underlain by sand (see attached quarter point sheet). 

 These areas are wet in winter and dry to wet in summer. Although 

 this forest is robust with the pines doing well, it is probably not 

 representative of the original vegetation. On certain sites, many 

 of the pines appear to be planted. Although not terribly inter- 

 esting in terms of natural heritage, this forest does offer a good 

 buffer from human activities to the south. 



