about the present-day 25-foot contour level (Ingram and 

 Otte, 1982). At about 18,000 years ago the sea had re- 

 ceded to about 400 feet below the present level. At 

 this time, downcutting by streams produced the series of 

 slopes and dendritic drainages such as Chapel Swamp (op. 

 cit.,1982) . From 18,000 years BP to the present day sea 

 level has been gradually rising and downcutting by the 

 streams has essentially stopped. The upland hardwood 

 stands which were probably much more extensive in the 

 region during the low sea level period have been steadily 

 encroached upon by rising waters of the sound and peat- 

 dominated wetlands to the south. They can be considered a 

 relict community which has persisted to the present day 

 within the natural area because of adequate drainage as- 

 sociated with the more dynamic topography. 



In terms of average size of trees, minimal degree 

 of past timbering disturbances , and lack of non-native 

 species invasion, the upland hardwood stands of the natural 

 area are the best examples of this community type known in 

 the Pamlimarle Peninsula. The water tupelo swamp forest 

 is the best example of an old-growth, relatively undis- 

 turbed alluvial floodplain stand in the Pamlimarle Penin- 

 sula. Together these two forest types comprise a near- 

 pristine example of an ecosystem which has almost com- 

 pletely disappeared from the Washington County landscape. 



Because of the small size of the tract, the natural 

 area is not believed to be of great significance as wild- 

 life habitat, particularly for wide-ranging mammals. 

 Despite its small size, the tract contains at least 30 

 species of breeding birds, including one species that 

 deserves special mention because of its rarity in the 

 Pamlimarle Peninsula. Several pairs of white-breasted 

 nuthatches nest in the swamp and upland forests along 

 Chapel Swamp. This species is known elsewhere in the 

 county only from Van Swamp and Lake Phelps; populations 

 are very local and scattered in adjacent Tyrrell, Beaufort, 

 and Hyde Counties. In the Coastal Plain it usually occurs 

 in brownwater river swamps and extensive mesic hardwood 

 flats, primarily in areas with old-growth or mature, 

 second-growth timber. 



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