Synopses & Reviews
North Carolina boasts a natural environment of exceptional richness and diversity. From the mountains to the coast, the state is home to an extraordinary variety of publicly accessible sites that showcase aspects of its ecology, geology, biology, and natural history. This book leads the reader on thirty-eight field trips to some of the most interesting and instructive of these natural landscapes.
Written by leading naturalists from across the state, this collection of "eco-tours" includes excursions to each of its four major regions: the coast, the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the mountains. Each trip traces a thirty- to seventy-mile driving route that connects preserved areas, hiking trails, scenic overlooks, nature trails, and other sites of interest. All entries provide a map of the route, describe what can be seen and learned along the way, and discuss especially noteworthy features.
An essential resource for anyone who treasures North Carolina's natural heritage, this book will inspire and inform travelers throughout the Tar Heel state.
Review
Without question this guide is an essential resource for anyone who treasures North Carolina•s natural heritage and wishes to see it preserved.
Winston-Salem Journal
Review
A greatly helpful and educational guide for all North Carolinians and Americans interested in exploring the marvelous natural heritage of our state.
Charles "Chuck" Roe, Conservation Trust for North Carolina
Review
A fresh way to look at the state•s geographyand exactly how to get out there and find it.
MetroMagazine
Review
There is much of use and value to be found in this book.
Durham Herald-Sun
Synopsis
Developed by leading naturalists, this collection of 38 North Carolina eco-tours introduces travelers to some of the state's most interesting natural landcapes. Each trip traces a driving route that connects preserved areas, hiking trails, scenic overlooks, nature trails, and other sites of interest.
Synopsis
Developed by leading naturalists, this collection of 38 North Carolina eco-tours introduces travelers to some of the state's most interesting natural landcapes. Each trip traces a driving route that connects preserved areas, hiking trails, scenic overlooks, nature trails, and other sites of interest.
Synopsis
A fresh way to look at the state•s geographyand exactly how to get out there and find it.
MetroMagazine Without question this guide is an essential resource for anyone who treasures North Carolina•s natural heritage and wishes to see it preserved.
Winston-Salem Journal There is much of use and value to be found in this book.
Durham Herald-Sun A greatly helpful and educational guide for all North Carolinians and Americans interested in exploring the marvelous natural heritage of our state.
Charles "Chuck" Roe, Conservation Trust for North Carolina
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [381]-386) and index.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction / Dirk Frankenberg
The Coast
Old and New on the Outer Banks: Maritime Forests, Inlets, and Development / Dirk Frankenberg
Outer Banks from Ocracoke to Pea Island: Merging of Sand and Sea / Stanley R. Riggs
Downeast Lowlands: Being Swallowed by the Sea / Stanley R. Riggs and Dirk Frankenberg
Bogue Banks: Natural Habitats on a Developed Shoreline / Dirk Frankenberg
White Oak River from Source to Sea: Natural Communities on a Blackwater River / Dirk Frankenberg
Lower Cape Fear River by Car and Ferry / Dirk Frankenberg
Brunswick County: Savanna to the Sea / Dirk Frankenberg
The Coastal Plain
Currituck Sound's Mackay Island / Yates M. Barber
Wetlands, Swamps, and Forests: Merchants Millpond to the Great Dismal Swamp / Henry C. Hammond and Penny Leary-Smith
Lower Roanoke River Floodplain: Swamps and Wetlands / Ida Phillips Lynch and J. Merrill Lynch
Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula: Pocosin Lakes and Wetlands / B. J. Copeland and Lundie Spence
Where Fresh and Salt Water Meet: The Upper Pamlico River Estuary / Vince Bellis
Croatan National Forest: Wetlands and Wildflowers / Jean W. Kraus
Carolina Bay Lakes: Lake Waccamaw and Bladen Lakes / Diane Lauritsen
Southern Lumber River Region / Staff of Lumber River State Park
Land of the Longleaf Pine: Weymouth Woods and the Sandhills / Kim Hyre and Scott Hartley
The Piedmont
Rocks, Soils, and Plant Life in the Central Piedmont / Harry LeGrand
Ecological Succession and Old-Growth Forests of the Central Piedmont / Phillip Manning
Nature amidst Development: Wake County Natural Areas / Laura White and Mark Johns
Coastal Plain to Piedmont Transition: Natural Communities of the Sandhills and Uwharrie Mountain Regions / Alan Weakley
Uwharrie Lakes Scenic Loop: Grassy Island Crossing and Indian Heritage Trail / Alex Cousins
Uwharrie Minerals and Landscapes: Origins and Use / Jeff Michael
Lonely Mountains: The Sauratowns from Hanging Rock to Pilot Mountain State Parks / Marshall Ellis
The South Mountains Area / Anne L. Maker
Parks, Forests, and Geology of the Southwest Piedmont / Deidri Sarver
The Mountains
Northwestern Mountains: Stone Mountain, Mount Jefferson, and New River State Parks / Marshall Ellis
Blue Ridge Parkway: Grandfather Mountain Region / Curtis Smalling
Roan Mountain Highlands: Ecology, Geology, and Cultural History / Elizabeth Hunter
Linville Gorge: Deepest Wilderness Area in the Eastern United States / Allen de Hart
Mountain Touring: Linville Falls to Mount Mitchell through Gorges, Peaks, and Forests / Michael P. Schafale
Forest Communities of the Southern Appalachians: Asheville to Mount Mitchell / Carleton Burke
Big Ivy Road to Craggy Mountain Scenic Area / Ron Lance
Great Smoky Mountains National Park / Dirk Frankenberg
Hickory Nut Gorge: A Scenic Approach to the North Carolina Mountains / Elisabeth Feil
Blue Ridge Parkway Tour: Asheville to Cherokee / J. Dan Pittillo
Our Forest Heritage and Forestry Today / Cindy Carpenter
Cherohala Skyway to Joyce Kilmer Forest / J. Dan Pittillo
Blue Ridge Escarpment: Gorges of Lake Jocassee / Gary Kauffman
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index