4.5 River Basins
4.5 River Basins 4.5.1 Introduction
In an assessment of southeastern states, North Carolina ranked third highest in overall diversity of stream types (Warren et al. 1997) .Te richness of North Carolina’s aquatic fauna is directly related to the geomorphology of the state, which defnes the major drainage divi- sions and the diversity of habitats within them. Watersheds of large rivers are commonly referred to as basins (Grifth et al. 1999) and North Carolina uses the basin concept as a spatial framework for assessment and management of drainage systems across the state. Figure 4.6 provides a map depicting the boundaries of the 17 major river basins in North Carolina as designated by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR). While 11 of the river basins have headwaters that begin in North Carolina, only four basins are contained entirely within the state (Cape Fear, Neuse, Tar–Pamlico, White
North Carolina’s river basin boundaries
F IGURE 4.6
495
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online