Natural Areas Represented: Pettigrew State Park (Lake Phelps) 

 Percentage of land area of county: 40% 



This landscape occupies much of the county in the poorly drained 

 interior situated between the upper reaches of the drainages and the 

 peat-dominated wetlands in the central and southeastern sections. 

 Essentially these are flat upland non-alluvial wetlands dominated by 

 mineral soils. Most of the soilscape has been drained, cleared and 

 converted to agriculture. Much of the remaining acreage, owned by 

 large timber corporations, has been or is in the process of being 

 drained and converted to large scale loblolly pine tree farms . 



Even though this landscape occupies a substantial part of the 

 county, very little natural vegetation remains and that which is 

 left has been subjected to extensive logging operations. The Lake 

 Phelps baldcypress natural area, although included in this associ- 

 ation unit, is probably not a typical vegetation type, because of 

 the influence of adjacent Lake Phelps. 



The natural vegetation probably consisted of a number of wet- 

 land hardwood and softwood species, including baldcypress, swamp 

 blackgum, loblolly pine, tulip-poplar, American beech (locally) , 

 swamp chestnut, laurel, willow, water, and cherrybark oaks, red 

 maple, and sweetgum. Ashe (1894) mentioned the occurrence of oak 

 flats in coastal plain lowlands slightly drier than more typical 

 swamps dominated by cypress and gum. Perhaps this landscape could 

 best fit into his oak flats vegetation type. 



3) Dorovan association: These are nearly level, very poorly 

 drained soils that are dominantly muck throughout; on 

 low-lying alluvial floodplains and in large undrained 

 swamps. 



Natural Areas Represented: 1) Conaby Creek-Roanoke River 



2) Bull's Neck Swamp 

 Percentage of land area in county: 9% 



This landscape is restricted primarily to the Roanoke River 

 basin and the Bull's Neck Swamp along Albemarle Sound. Minor areas 

 occur along the Welch, Deep, and Mackey's Creek drainages and along 

 the Scuppernong River. 



These wetlands are almost all below 5 feet in elevation and 

 occupy deep peat or muck deposits in drainage basins. Because of 

 their wetness, inaccessibility and flooding susceptibility, they 

 have remained the least disturbed of the seven major soilscapes 

 by drainage and clearing operations . 



The original vegetation probably consisted of baldcypress and 

 swamp blackgum with scattered Atlantic white cedar, loblolly and 



