NATURAL AREA INVENTORY 

 Basic Information Summary Sheet 



1. Natural Area Name: Angola Bay, Holly Shelter Bay 



2 . County : Pender 



3. Location: Angola Bay is located in the northeast part of Pender County, 

 east of US 117 and the Northeast Cape Fear River, and extends into 

 southern Duplin County. Holly Shelter Bay is located in east-central 

 Pender County , south of NC 53, east of the Northeast Cape Fear River, 

 and northwest of US 17. Coordinates: Angola Bay: Vicinity of 34°40'N, 

 77°50'W; Holly Shelter Bay: Vicinity of 34°30'N, 77°40 'W . (FIGURES 2,3). 



4. Topographic Quadrangle (s) : Angola Bay: Burgaw (1942) and Maple Hill 



(1943); Holly Shelter Bay: Complete in 7.5' maps except for Folkstone 

 and including parts of Stag Park (1981) , Maple Hill SW (1981) , Mooretown 

 (1970) , Topsail (1970) , and Holly Ridge (1970) . 



5. Size: Approximately 20,000 ac within the Pender County portion of 

 Angola Bay Game Land, and 48,500 ac within the Holly Shelter Wildlife 

 Management Area. 



6. Elevation: 15 ft or slightly less to 30 ft above mean sea level 



7. Access: Angola Bay is inaccessible I The southern periphery can be 

 reached by traveling northeast from Burgaw on NC 53 for approximately 

 8 miles. Private, gated roads extend northward but do not go as far 

 as the State Game Land boundary. Holly Shelter Bay includes limited 

 access from US 17, north of Hampstead and from SR 1520 which parallels 

 the Northeast Cape Fear River. It is advisable, before entering Holly 

 Shelter Bay, to acquaint oneself with pertinent regulations. Therefore, 

 it is suggested that entrance to the natural area include a visit to 

 the Game Lands headquarters on SR 1520, ca. 7 miles north of NC 210. 



8. Names of Investigators: S. W. Leonard Ricky Davis 



P. 0. Box 3475 126 Duncansby Court 



Wilmington, NC 28406 Cary, NC 27511 



9. Date(s) of Investigation: May-September, 1981 



10. Priority Rating: High 



11A. Prose Description of Site: From the air, the two vast areas of Angola 

 Bay and Holly Shelter Bay appear as limitless green wilderness. With 

 diameters of more than 10 miles, and in the case of Angola Bay, no 

 roads or trails, they rank with Dismal Swamp, the Dare County peninsula, 

 the "open grounds" of Carteret County, and the Green Swamp as some 

 of North Carolina's most inaccessible interior wetlands. For almost 

 fifty years Angola and Holly Shelter have been owned by the State, and 







