1. The Tidewater Region of North Carolina

2. The Tidewater Region Essential Question:
What are the major features of the Tidewater Region?

3. The Tidewater Region Important words: Sound Barrier islands Inlet
Gulf Stream
Wetland
Estuary
Pocosin
Savanna

4. The Tidewater Region

5. The Tidewater Region
Narrow strip of North Carolina (NC) along the Atlantic Ocean
30-50 miles wide
Tides affect the region’s water
sounds: inland bodies of salt/fresh water mix

6. Barrier Islands Islands form the beach of the Tidewater
Part of a chain of sand pits sticking up out of the ocean near the shore
Most less than two miles across, barely above sea level, and ever changing due to surf and wind
The Outer Banks are the most famous barrier islands

7. Barrier Island
At Cape Hatteras islands are widest; Jockey’s Ridge is tallest point (114’)
Inlets: low places in the sand; allows water from the ocean into the sound
“Graveyard of the Atlantic”: nickname for waters near
Cape Hatteras – dangerous due to storms caused by warm Gulf Stream colliding with cold Labrador Current
Cape Fear: true break in the island chain; Cape Fear River flows directly into the Atlantic

8. The Sounds Largest Sounds Each sound fed by fresh water rivers
Oldest towns in NC near the sounds
Great location for trade along river routes and ocean
Fishing is an important industry
Sediment (soil, clay, gravel) is deposited by the rivers in the sounds – makes them too shallow for large ships
estuaries: salt water wetlands; these marshes are home to shellfish and shrimp
Largest Sounds
Currituck
Albemarle
Pamlico
Core
Bogue

9. Swamps and Lakes
pocosins: wetland type; Indian name means “swamp on a hill”
trees: laurel, bay, scrub oak
Alligator and Big Pocosin are the largest
savanna: wetland type
tall grasses mix with various pines
example: Green Swamp (home of Venus Fly Trap)
Most natural lakes in NC are in the Tidewater
Lake Mattamuskeet is largest (only 6’ deep)
Least populated area of the state