Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve
36°23′30″N 75°50′04″W / 36.391756°N 75.834374°W
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Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve is a component site of the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve on the Currituck Banks, north of Corolla, North Carolina. Currituck Banks is one of three original National Estuarine Research Reserve sites dedicated by NOAA in 1985. The reserve encompasses 965 acres of varied habitat and is bordered by the Currituck Sound. The Currituck banks are apart of a 70 mile long barrier spit that extends from Virginia Beach to Oregon Inlet.
Description
The reserve is an example of a low-salinity estuarine ecosystem, and contains a variety of habitats, including beach, sand dunes, grasslands, shrub thicket, maritime forest, brackish and freshwater marshes, tidal flats, and subtidal soft bottoms.
The reserve was described in the Boston Globe as being among the coast's most beautiful nature preserves; the review noted that the reserve and surrounding area is nearly empty of people during the off-season.[1]
Fauna
The reserve is home to a wealth of birds and fish, including commercial and game fish species. The reserve allows hunting (with a registration form required),[2] and is also listed as an eBird hotspot for birdwatching.[3][4]
References
- ^ Sacha Pfeiffer, "Outer Banks in winter peaceful, inexpensive", Boston Globe, Feb. 7, 2007.
- ^ North Carolina Coastal Reserve: Currituck Banks NC Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, Retrieved Feb. 20, 2106.
- ^ eBird. 2010. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance (web application). Version 2. eBird, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed: Jan. 24, 2010).
- ^ "Currituck Banks Reserve | NC DEQ". deq.nc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
External links
- Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve
- North Carolina Reserve: The Currituck Banks Component