4.5 River Basins
4.5.14 Pasquotank River Basin 4.5.14.1 River Basin Description
Te Pasquotank River Basin is an Atlantic Slope drainage with a small portion of its head- waters in Virginia. Te remainder of the basin lies in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain and drains into the Albemarle Sound. Te Pasquotank River fows as freshwater until tidal infuence begins downstream of Elizabeth City. Te Pasquotank is the ffth largest river basin in the state (3,366 square miles), and has 107 miles of Atlantic coast line. Major tribu- taries within the river basin include Alligator River, Perquimans River, Little River, Yeopim River, Scuppernong River, and North River. Tere are no major reservoirs in the basin. Based on the 2011 National Land Cover Dataset, land use in the basin was estimated to be 6% forested, 20% agricultural, 33% wetland, 4% urban or developed, and less than 1% grass- land (MLCR 2011; Jin et al. 2013). Land in the basin is very fat and geology consists of alternating layers of sand, silt, clay, and limestone. Low fows over the warmest months of the year limits the ability of streams in the basin to maintain high DO levels. Nearly 22% of the land in the basin is classifed as a national wildlife refuge (Alligator River, Currituck, Great Dismal Swamp, Mackay Island, Pea Island, and Pocosin Lakes). Lake Phelps, located in Pettigrew State Park, is the state’s second largest natural lake at 16,000 acres. Additionally, the basin contains the 70-mile long Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Te basin contains all or portions of 13 NCWRC game lands (including Buckridge, Gull Rock, New Lake, Northwest River Marsh, and Roanoke Island Marshes), representing over 103,838 acres (5% of the basin). Tese game lands include a black bear sanctuary on North River Game Land and waterfowl impoundments on the North River, Futch, and Lantern Acres game lands. Tere are 13 municipalities within the 10 counties in the basin. Te largest municipalities are Elizabeth City, Manteo, and Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks. According to USCB data (2010) , the human population is estimated to be 139,127; however, seasonal populations may be higher, as the Outer Banks are a popular vacation destination. Figure 4.27 shows the location of the Pasquotank River Basin. 4.5.14.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions Waterbodies in the basin exhibit a broad range of conditions, from the brackish waters of the Albemarle Sound to the tidal freshwater marshes of the upper Currituck to the fresh- water rivers and streams throughout. Unique in this basin is Phelps Lake, a large shallow natural lake located in Pettigrew State Park.
Segments of the Alligator, Little, North, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Scuppernong, and Yeopim rivers and many of their tributaries, Phelps Lake, Swan Creek Lake, and Sandy
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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