marie Peninsula at this site. 



Adjacent to the swamp are a series of slopes which rise 

 5-6 feet above the floodplain. Along the gentle (2-6 ) slopes 

 and the relatively flat ridgecrests the plant community (CT 2) 

 occurs: Mixed upland hardwoods/ Fagus grandifolia transgressives 

 or Ostrya virginiana (Mixed hardwoods/American beech trans- 

 gressives or hop hornbeam) . This upland, terrestrial community 

 contains several species of hardwoods, the two most common being 

 white oak ( Quercus alba ) and American beech. Species also pre- 

 sent in the canopy in smaller proportions include southern red 

 oak ( Quercus falcata var. falcata ) , tulip poplar ( Liriodendron 

 tulipifera ) , loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda ) , black gum ( Nyssa 

 sylvatica var. sylvatica ) , and pignut hickory ( Carya glabra ) . 

 These upland hardwood stands average 60-70 feet in height and 

 20-22 inches dbh. A fairly well-developed subcanopy layer 

 dominated by younger American beech and, locally, by hophorn- 

 beam is present. Also present in the shrub layer are scattered 

 clumps of silky camellia ( Stewartia malacodendron ) , a tall 

 shrub which is uncommon and local throughout most of the 

 coastal plain. The natural area is the only known location 

 for the species on the Pamlimarle Peninsula, excluding Beaufort 

 County. The ground layer is typically sparse but contains 

 small patches of lady fern ( Athyrium asplenioides ) , New York 

 fern ( Thelypteris noveboracensis ) , mayapple ( Podophyllum 

 peltatu m ) , and other herbaceous species. 



The upland hardwood stands represent a plant community 

 which is of very limited extent in the county and which is 

 at the eastern limit of its range in the Pamlimarle Peninsula. 

 Although topographically the region is no higher than the 

 extensive wetlands of the East Dismal Swamp to the south, 

 these slopes and low ridges are much better drained. The 

 better drainage is the result of the series of dendritic 

 stream basins, such as Chapel Swamp, which drain into ad- 

 jacent Albemarle Sound, located about h to h mile away from 

 the natural area. 



The soils of the uplands are mapped as the Altavista, 

 Dogue, and Wahee series, all of which are fine sandy loams 

 and differ only in minor degrees of drainage and mineral 

 particle size content. Because of their better drainage, 

 most of these soils have been cleared for agriculture for 

 some time. Most of the earlier farming settlements of 

 Washington County were in this zone of mineral soils along 

 the south edge of Albemarle Sound. 



Geologically, the natural area lies on the Pamlico 

 Terrace, a flat surface comprised of marine sediments de- 

 posited some 100,000 years ago when sea level was much 

 higher and the shoreline was along the Suffolk Scarp, at 



150 



