INTRODUCTION 



Seventh in size in North Carolina, Pender County has an area of 

 869 sq mi including 857 sq mi of land and 12 sq mi of water. The approxi- 

 mately 550,000 ac in the county consist of forest and forested wetlands 

 (81%) , agriculture (11%) , developed (2%) , water and marshlands (1%) and 

 other miscellaneous land uses (5%) . 



Pender County is the newest county in eastern North Carolina of those 

 bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The county was formed in 1875 from New 

 Hanover, and in addition to the Atlantic Ocean and New Hanover County, it 

 has contiguous boundaries with the following counties: Brunswick, Columbus, 

 Bladen, Sampson, Duplin, and Onslow (FIGURE 1) . 



Three major rivers lie partly within the county. The most extensive 

 river mileage is from the Northeast Cape Fear, followed by the Black 

 River, and the Cape Fear River. All three rivers are navigable for lengthy 

 distances, although the upper stretches of the Black River during periods 

 of dry weather can only be safely navigated with small outboard or canoe. 

 Several of the tributary streams which empty into the rivers are also 

 navigable. Major tributary streams of the Northeast Cape Fear River are 

 (in Pender County) : Long Creek, Turkey Creek, Island Creek, Harrison/Merrick 

 Creeks, Burgaw Creek, and Holly Shelter Creek. Moores Creek is the largest 

 sub-basin in Pender County which empties into the Black River. There are 

 no major Pender County drainages, other than Black River, which, in Pender, 

 enter the Cape Fear. Nevertheless, the entire county lies within the Cape 

 Fear Basin. 



The generalized geology of Pender County dates from the Cretaceous 

 Period, during which time the Pee Dee formation, consisting of gray-to- 

 green sands, impure limestones, and lenses of marine clays and interbedded 

 sands, was deposited. This formation is considered the basement complex 

 beneath the western half of the county. East of the Pee Dee formation and 

 extending in a belt from the Rocky Point area northeast to Maple Hill is 

 Eocene Castle Hayne limestone, a chalky-white, sandy-shell limestone or 

 dense silicified gray limestone. Outcrops of this formation are uncommon 

 but do occur on the McRae Farm, east of Rocky Point. The formation is in 

 significant quantities to make commercial exploitation feasible. The 

 overburden varies considerably, as does the consistency of the stone. 

 Near Maple Hill, the proximity of the Castle Hayne formation to the surface 

 is sufficient to strongly alter soil pH. As a result the basic soil 

 reaction affects vegetation and promotes atypical coastal plain communities. 

 East of the Castle Hayne formation is a broad belt of mostly Quaternary 

 sands and clays, a belt that is roughly delineated by the present route of 

 US 17. 



Soils of Pender County are diverse, and the preliminary soil map of the 

 county shows ten soil series: 



(1) Johnston-Lumbee Association: Very poorly to poorly drained 

 soils with loamy subsoils, on first bottom floodplains and 

 low- lying stream terraces. 



