11a. Prose Description of Natural Area 



INTRODUCTION 



The most extensive natural lands remaining in Hyde County 

 are located along a corridor bordering the Alligator River in 

 the northern portion of the county. These lands extend from 

 the Dare County line (north of Swan Lake) westward to and in- 

 cluding the large island known as Roper Island formed by the 

 Intracoastal Waterway channel and the natural Alligator River 

 Channel. Because of the size of this area and the varying 

 qualities of the natural vegetation types, the Alligator River 

 corridor has been divided into two contiguous natural areas , 

 Roper Island (see pp. ) and the Alligator River Swamp Forest, 

 the latter site which will be discussed in this site report. 



The Alligator River Swamp Forest, encompassing about 

 16,300 acres, is bordered by Roper Island (Intracoastal 

 Waterway) on the west and by Swan Lake on the east (see Fig. 

 ) . The natural area exists as a corridor along the Al- 

 ligator River and varies in width from about 1.5 miles to 3 

 miles , and has a length of about 7 miles . The southern 

 boundary of the natural area lies adjacent to a huge super- 

 farm development, part of a consortium of agricorporations , 

 which extend south almost to the western end of Lake Matta- 

 muskeet. This vast area, now mostly cleared and planted in 

 corn and soybeans, was originally a pond pine pocosin wetland. 

 The natural area corridor runs generally east-west except for 

 the eastern end near Swan Lake where the Alligator River 

 abruptly turns north and the natural area swings to the 

 north-northeast where it intercepts the Dare County line. 

 Swan Creek Lake , a natural freshwater lake , lies along 

 Swan Creek, a poorly defined drainage tributary of the 

 Alligator River. This tributary extends south beyond 

 Swan Lake into cleared agricultural areas , part of the 

 superfarm development mentioned above. A wooded buffer, 

 dominated by swamp forest vegetation similar to the Al- 

 ligator River corridor proper, extends as a strip h to 1 

 mile wide along this drainage for a distance of about 3 

 miles. 



The Alligator River Swamp Forest Natural Area is very 

 similar in terms of vegetation types, ecology, and soils to 

 the Dare County portion of the swamp forest which lies just 

 to the north of the site along the east bank of the Alligator 

 River. The Dare County Natural Area is described in detail 

 in "Natural Areas of the Dare County Peninsula," pp. 



16 



