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29-717: Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area is a North Carolina state park in Orange County , North Carolina in the United States . Located adjacent to the town of Hillsborough , it covers 221 acres (0.89 km) and includes Occoneechee Mountain, the highest point (867 ft) in Orange County and a settlement of the Occaneechi tribe. Rising more than 350 feet (110 m) from the Eno River ,

58-580: A depth of 100 meters. The continental shelf off the Atlantic Ocean ranges in width from less than 1 km off Florida to more than 420 km off Maine. The average width is about 135 km. The Coastal Plain of the United States includes all or portions of the states of Alabama , Arkansas , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Kentucky , Maryland , Massachusetts , Mississippi , New Jersey , New York , North Carolina , Oklahoma , South Carolina , Rhode Island , Tennessee , Texas and Virginia . From

87-544: A trail corridor or for protecting significant features or resources along the trail. Most of these lands are leased to other land management agencies. All of the State Trails are joint projects with other government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The following is the NC Division of Parks & Recreation description of State Trails: The North Carolina Trails System Act was passed in 1973 to help provide for

116-755: Is an endemic plant community found in most of the Atlantic coastal plain, ranging from Virginia to northern Florida. These woodland savannas are reliant on sandy soils and are fire dependent, lest hardwoods start to dominate. Alongside longleaf pine , typically associated flora includes turkey oak and wiregrass . The Florida longleaf pine sandhill extends the longleaf pine forests into central Florida, with South Florida slash pine flatwoods , Florida sand pine scrub and Florida dry prairie stretching into southern Florida. Longleaf pine woodlands also stretch further west, to eastern Texas. These consist of East Gulf and West Gulf longleaf pine flatwoods , bisected by

145-507: Is focused on preserving and protecting areas of scientific, aesthetic, or ecological value. Facilities are limited to those needed for interpretation, protection, and minimum maintenance. Generally, recreational and public use facilities such as camping, swimming, picnicking, and the like are not provided in State Natural Areas. State Lakes are all large, naturally formed bodies of water in the state's Coastal Plain . Most of

174-463: Is now identified as a global biodiversity hotspot, with over 1500 endemic plant species, and ~70% habitat loss. This endemism is particularly high in the longleaf pine savannas and woodlands , along with the other herbaceous and fire dependent ecosystems of the ecoregion. Despite intermittent flooding, certain refugia have remained continuously terrestrial since at least the late Cretaceous (85-80mya), contributing to endemism. Generally speaking, despite

203-478: Is provided than in State Parks. Protection and enjoyment of the natural resources are still important, and the sites are expected to contain scenic and attractive natural features. Development is planned and constructed to keep a "reasonable amount" of each area undisturbed and free from improvements and structures. State Natural Areas protect areas more sensitive to human activities than State Parks. Most of

232-544: The Mexican border and southward an additional 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the Yucatán Peninsula . The central and southern Atlantic Coast is characterized by barrier and drowned valley coasts. The coastal Atlantic plain features nearly continuous barriers interrupted by inlets , large embayments with drowned river valleys , and extensive wetlands and marshes . The Atlantic plain slopes gently seaward from

261-535: The Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic coastal plains. The Atlantic Plain is generally gently dipping undeformed Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments, with the sedimentary wedge thickening toward the sea, reaching a maximum thickness of about 3 kilometers (10,000 ft) in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina . Despite being previously overlooked in research, the Atlantic Coastal Plain

290-623: The Mississippi Alluvial Plain . To the north, the Atlantic Coastal Plain also broaches into the mesic hardwood forests of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests , followed by the northern Atlantic coastal pine barrens . The southernmost Atlantic Plain contains the only Neotropical ecoregion of the continental USA, being the Everglades and Florida mangroves . The following species are largely endemic to

319-571: The Piedmont's habitat underwent enormous transformations after the Ice Age, the area became unable to support the brown elfin and other species more accustomed to cooler environments. Brown elfins, believed to have once populated the Piedmont, were restricted to the state's mountains. However, the brown elfin butterflies at Occoneechee Mountain remained. The land the state natural area now sits on

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348-603: The Atlantic Plain division comprises two provinces and six sections. The Coastal Plain province is differentiated from the Continental Shelf province simply based on the portion of the land mass above and below sea level. The lands adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are made up of sandy beaches, marshlands, bays, and barrier islands. It is the flattest of the U.S. physiographic divisions and stretches over 2,200 miles (3,500 km) in length from Cape Cod to

377-574: The Occoneechee Mountain summit is the highest point in Orange County. Researchers believe that the area's habitat has remained relatively unchanged since the last ice age due to the presence of the brown elfin, a rare butterfly, and several unique plant species. The brown elfin is typically found in mountainous and northern areas, and the nearest brown elfin population to Occoneechee is more than 100 miles (160 km) west. When

406-406: The State Natural Areas are undeveloped and have limited to no facilities, and some of them are closed to the general public to protect rare, fragile ecosystems . A few have developed facilities for low intensity, passive recreation, as well as facilities for public interpretation and education of the natural area. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation states: The purpose of State Natural Areas

435-550: The State Parks System known as State Lakes. Most of these are administratively included as part of an adjoining State Park, but one of the lakes (White Lake) has no public ownership on its shoreline. State Trails are one of the principal components of the State Trail System. State Trails may be either long-distance, hiking trails or paddle trails . State Trails may have land components for providing

464-627: The benefit of present and future generations. The Natural and Scenic Rivers Act established criteria and methods for inclusion of components to the system. Components of the Natural and Scenic Rivers System are State Rivers, and are also units of the State Parks System. Some units have been formally removed from the NC State Park System and transferred to other agencies for management. When the State Historic Site system

493-460: The development of facilities, but may vary in the extent of development depending upon what can be provided without damage to the scenic or natural features. Facilities are planned and constructed to keep disturbance of natural resources to a minimum and to leave a "liberal portion" of each park undisturbed and free from improvements and structures, except for trails. Several of the State Parks are new and are still being planned and developed. A few of

522-468: The high diversity of soils, the soil is nutrient poor. This is primarily due to an abundance of well-drained soils, creating a primarily xeric character to the floral makeup of the Atlantic Plain. However, waterlogged soils are also notable, with wetlands and hammocks being important ecological features. The Eastern woodlands are the original, predominant ecosystem of the Atlantic coastal plain. The Atlantic coastal plain upland longleaf pine woodland

551-535: The inland highlands in a series of terraces. This gentle slope continues far into the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico , forming the continental shelf. The relief at the land-sea interface is so low that the boundary between them is often blurry and indistinct, especially along stretches of the Louisiana bayous and the Florida Everglades . The Atlantic Ocean has a broad, flat continental shelf that reaches

580-574: The lakes are Carolina Bays . The NC Division of Parks & Recreation describes its State Lakes as follows: Chapter 165 of the Laws of 1929 specified that "all lakes now belonging to the State having an area of 50 acres or more" should be "administered as provided for other recreational areas now owned by the State." This allowed the then-Department of Conservation and Development to assume management authority for seven Coastal Plain lakes that became units of

609-475: The most part, of layers of sand and clay which are not yet hardened into sandstone and shale. The Coastal Plain features nearly continuous barrier islands interrupted by inlets, large embayments with drowned river valleys, and extensive wetlands and marshes. The Coastal Plain slopes gently seaward from the inland highlands in a series of terraces. The province's average elevation is less than 900 meters above sea level and extends some 50 to 100 kilometers inland from

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638-536: The northeast, it begins on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and stretches to the southwest to South Padre Island, Texas . This is approximately 1,900 miles (3,100 km). This province consists of the following physiographic sections: the Embayed, Sea Island , Floridian , East Gulf Coastal Plain , Mississippi Alluvial Plain , and the West Gulf Coastal Plain . The rocks in the province consist, for

667-515: The ocean. The coastal plain is normally wet, including many rivers, marsh , and swampland . It is composed primarily of sedimentary rock and unlithified sediments and is primarily used for agriculture . The Atlantic Coastal Plain includes the Carolina Sandhills region as well as the Embayed and Sea Island physiographic provinces. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is sometimes subdivided into northern and southern regions, specifically

696-487: The older state parks were greatly expanded in size in the 2000s adding trails and bike paths open to the public. State Recreation Areas are more intensely developed units than State Parks, and they largely encompass lands less sensitive to human activities than State Parks. According to the NC Division of Parks & Recreation: State Recreation Areas are sites where the primary purpose is outdoor recreation, rather than preservation. More intensive development of facilities

725-700: The paved Hillsborough Riverwalk trail, which extends east along the Eno River towards downtown Hillsborough. The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area: List of North Carolina state parks State Parks are the principle unit of the state park system. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation describes its parks as follows: Generally, State Parks are expected to possess both significant natural resource values and significant recreational values. State Parks are expected to accommodate

754-522: The state's Natural and Scenic Rivers System, which is the state's equivalent to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System . Most of the state's National Wild and Scenic Rivers , are also State Rivers and vice versa . The NC Division of Parks & Recreation states that: The Natural and Scenic Rivers System was created by the 1971 General Assembly to preserve and protect certain free flowing rivers, their water quality and their adjacent lands for

783-485: The state's outdoor recreation needs and to promote public access to natural and scenic areas. The act prescribed methods for establishing a statewide system of scenic trails, recreation trails, and connecting or side trails. The Trails System includes "park trails", which are designated and managed as units of the State Parks System known as State Trails, and "designated trails", which are managed by other governmental agencies or corporations. State Rivers are components of

812-625: Was established in 1955, the system's first six components were historic properties transferred from the State Park System. One unit, Rendezvous Mountain , was transferred back to the park system, after 66 years in the state forest system. Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Plain is one of eight distinct physiographic divisions of the contiguous United States . Using the USGS physiographic classification system,

841-751: Was originally settled by the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation , who traveled to the mountain from the west. In the colonial period, European immigrants settled the area. Until 1987, a mill village occupied a section of the natural area. The NC Division of Parks and Recreation first purchased land at Occoneechee Mountain in December 1997. Since then, the natural area has grown to 221 acres (0.89 km) Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area features over 3 miles of trails, as well as fishing and picnic areas. The park's trail network also connects to

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