this figure, the natural area represents less than 3% of the 

 original East Dismal Swamp wetland system, a miniscule rem- 

 nant of the swamp forest and pocosin vegetation types which 

 once dominated much of the Washington County landscape. 



The East Dismal Swamp natural area is situated on a 

 broad, very flat, upland surface which is poorly drained 

 due to the lack of stream drainages in the area. Elevation 

 ranges from 16-18 feet above sea level. Topographically, 

 the site is located on an upland, interstream flat. To the 

 north and east, several minor tributaries drain the margins 

 of the flat. Areas to the south and west of the natural 

 area are drained by a series of interconnecting ditches 

 and canals which drain eventually into the Pungo River. 



The natural area is situated on the Pamlico Terrace, 

 the land surface containing surficial sediments deposited 

 about 100,000 years B.P. when sea level was much higher 

 and the Atlantic Ocean covered much of the outer coastal 

 plain (Ingram and Otte 1982). About 18,000 years ago sea 

 level was about 400 feet below present sea level during 

 which time the Pamlico Terrace was dissected by stream 

 erosion resulting in a dendritic pattern of stream valleys. 

 Since that time sea level has been rising. About 10,000 

 years ago peat development began in shallow lakes and marshes 

 along the stream courses. These blocked channels filled with 

 peat and began flooding the adjacent low-lying areas. This 

 flooding created a large, flat wetland on which a swamp 

 forest became established and in which the decomposing 

 vegetation eventually formed the organic soils covering 

 much of East Dismal Swamp (op. cit. 1982) . 



This blanket of organic deposits occupies the flat, 

 poorly drained surface within the natural area. Almost the 

 entire natural area has been mapped as the Belhaven muck 

 soil series, a relatively shallow organic soil which has 

 organic accumulations 16-51 inches thick. These shallow 

 peats are a western extension of a much larger body of 

 peat which lies adjacent to the southwestern and southern 

 sides of Lake Phelps, about 6 miles SE of the natural area 

 (op cit 1982) . 



VEGETATION 



The natural area is dominated by an interesting assemblage 

 of bottomland hardwoods and typical swamp forest species. One 

 community type was determined from field observations : Nyssa 

 sylvatica var. biflora/Acer rubrum-Magnolia virginiana/Persea 

 borbonia (swamp blackgum/red maple-sweetbay/redbay; CT 1) . 



46 



