Dis cove r North Carolin a’s River Basins ENVIRONMENTAL North Carolina is a diverse land with natural beauty that appeals to residents EDUCATION and visitors alike. It is also a land experiencing competition for its natural resources that are already under stress and that could be lost to us in the absence of a wide spread awareness of their existence, their significance and their value. Natural resources are not isolated from each other or the people who use them. Each resource is an integral part of the ecosystem. When one part of the system is affected, other parts feel the impact. It is environmental education that provides the knowledge, understanding and awareness of this intercon nected ness of all things and gives us the ability to make informed environmental decisions. The more we understand and respect our own community, the more capable we are of being good stewards of the environment. If you have ever visited one of North Carolina’s many Environmental Education Centers —nature centers, parks, aquariums, museums, the zoo, public gardens, etc. —then you have already started appreciating natural systems and had fun while learning about them. Environmental education is not issue advocacy or a biased point of view. Environmental education enables communities to care for their own environ - ment. Living within the limits set by the environment depends on the beliefs and commitment of individuals. Individuals working together as a community have more power to promote practices that can nourish rather than cripple their natural life-support systems. I N TH E 1990 S , several crises elevated rivers in the public consciousness. First came Pfiesteria , a lethal organism that killed millions of fish in coastal waters. Then a series of hurricanes brought river and development issues to the fore - front . How we treat rivers and the land around them has a direct relation ship to our quality of life. The purpose of this booklet is to describe how river basins func tion and how humans and rivers are interconnected. It demon strates how decisions we make as home owners and citizens affect the quality of the water we drink, swim in and fish from. With this knowl edge, individ uals can make more informed deci - North Carolina’s sions regarding their environment. W HAT IS A R IVER B ASIN ? estuary: a semi- River Basins A river basin is the land that enclosed area water flows across or under on its where fresh water KEN TAYLOR, WILDLIFE IMAGES way to a river. As a bath t ub catches all the water that falls within its sides, a from a river meets salty water from river basin sends all the water falling on the sur rounding land into a central the sea river and out to an estuary or the sea. river basin: drain age area of a river A river basin drains all the land around a major GRAPHIC BY ERIN HANCOCK, NCWRC river. Basins can be divided into water sheds , or areas of land around a smaller river, stream or lake. Large river basins, such as the Neuse and watershed: all the land drained Cape Fear, are made by a river, stream up of many smaller or lake groundwater: the water sheds. The land - water found in scape is made up of many inter connected cracks and pores in sand, gravel watersheds. Within each watershed, all water and rocks below runs to the lowest point—a stream, river, lake the earth’s surface or ocean. On its way, water travels over the land surface —across farm fields, forestland, suburban lawns and city streets, or it seeps into the soil and travels as groundwater . Everyone lives in a river basin. You influence ecosystem: a natural sys- what happens in your river basin, tem linked by living (plants, good or bad, by how you treat the natural resources—the soil, water, air, plants and animals) and nonliving (soil, air, water) things. animals. As water moves downstream, it carries and redeposits gravel, sand and silt. Water also transfers bacteria, chemicals, excess nutrients and organic matter. Whatever happens to the surface water or groundwater upstream will even tu ally affect downstream systems. Therefore, the health of the aquatic ecosystem is directly related to activities on land. 1 North Carolina’s Phoenix Mtn. Sparta 4690' r ALLEGHANY e Jefferson i v ST OKE S R SURR Y D R ASHE E a n R i v e w Dobson N e G Danbur y W i n s W M o u n t a a w n t a D r a t o Bel ew s u r S a u gWATA UG A R i v e a Lake R Boone I . Roan Mtn. WILKE S k i n T R a d 6285 ' Y W. K err Scott Grandf ather Mtn. YADKI N Reser v oir FORSYTH Ne wland 5964' Wilkesboro n s a i Ya d k i nv i l l e Ke rnersville n t MITCHELL o u Winston-Salem N AV ERY M o r t Bakersville h h y T E r u s F Burnsville o e B r e High n R i CALD WELL c v e r U ALEXANDE R DA VI E Point h MADISO N YANCE Y Lenoir Ta ylorsville Mocksville Mt . Mitchel l L IREDELL Thomasville 6684' Mt. Ster ling Marshall Lak e Hi cko ry B Lak e Le xington Mt . Hardison 5835' w b a Rhodhiss 6134' a t a Statesville P B C i Look out g r R DA VIDSO N o i v Clingmans e Shoals a Morganton e o Lak e r Dom e d McDO WELL Hi cko ry Lak e s n Ja me s BURKE 6643' a i n Ne wton n t Marion South Uwhar ri e M o u HA YW OOD BUNCOMB E RO WA N H igh o k y k W aterro ck CATA WB A G r e a t S m P a r Ashe ville Roc k R i o n a l Knob Salisb ur y Lak e N a t Wa ynesville Cold Mtn. Fo ntana 6292' Mountain L i t t l e SW AI N 6030' Mountains Lak e B Mt . Pisgah Mooresville Tu cke rt ow n a Richland 5721' Lak e Reser v oir Badin l s Balsa m Lak e No rm an a LINCOLN Lak e e i m R 6540' Lure r Br yson Sylva r GRAHAM T i City u v Lincolnton Kannapolis P a c e h Santeetlah k M RUTHERFORD e a o r e w Lak e s u B T r CLEVELAND Concor d U Robbinsville e e n o M ountain n g t HENDERSO N a Rutherfordton D n a Wa ya h N e d Kings Mountain Island e e e i Albemar le a n POLK Reser v oir e Bald n s s Lak e CAB ARR US t s Hendersonville 5342' a GAST ON h e JA CKSO N a R Br ev ard MONTGO e H CHE RO KE E l i v ST ANL Y i Nantahala a e Columbu s Shel by w r R i v Gastonia Lak e a M TRANSYL VANI A e s s Lak e Fr anklin r e o MECKLENBURG Tiller y e Standing u Lak e Hiw assee R i n MA CO N t Mu rp hy v e CLA Y Indian Mtn. R Mint H ill r a W ylie Charlotte i i 5499' n Lak e v Chatuge s e Ha yesville r Lak e Matth ew s R i v e r R Monroe Wadesboro UNION ANSO N W A T A U G A N E W R O A N O K E C H O W A N Y A P A S Q U O T A N K D C T K A A R F R E N C H I - T N P A B R O A D A - N M P E L I T T L E W U L I E S C B T E N N E S S E E E E O B R O A D A D E C H I W A S S E E A E P E F E A R S A V A N N A H W H I T E O A K L U M B E R N ORTH C AROLINA HAS 17 MAJOR RIVER BASINS . Five of the state’s river basins—the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Watauga and New—are part of the Mississippi River Basin, which drains to the Gulf of Mexico. All the others flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins, 11 originate in North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state’s borders—the Cape Fear, Neuse, White Oak and Tar-Pamlico. *The green boundary on the small map marks the River Basins of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System. 2 River Basins C Ma yo Dismal U John H. K err Roanoke Rapids R Currituck Eden Lake Reservo ir Reservo ir Sw am p R Lake GA TE S C IT Hyco Gaston A U RO CKINGHAM C M C C Ya n c ey v i l l e Roanok e h u Lake GRANVILLE NOR THAMPT ON o P D K r Rapids w A r e a n E r Gatesville i Ro xboro S N t R Q u Winton c Reidsville Warrenton i U Wentworth v k CASWELL Henderso n Halifa x Ja ckson e O Elizabet h WA RRE N r T City PERSON HER TFORD A Camden Oxford N VA NC E K HALI FA X Lake P To wnsend PERQUIMANS a Quaker s Lake Bur lington R q o u Creek a Hertf or d o n t Reservoir o CHO WA N a n S k k e o FRANKLI N R u GUILFORD n iv Bur lington d e d ORANGE BE RT IE S o u n r Louisburg T l e Greensbor o Edenton m a r a l b e ALAMANCE DURHA M r NASH A Windsor r Ro ck y e Graham v R i Carrbor o Mount i v Durham Nashville e R C H Fa lls Lake Wa ke r r Columbiao M anteo a Forest a t w a Chapel H ill Tarbor o r n Williamston WASHINGT ON o EDGECOMBE t Plymouth a S Phelps g o TYRRELL i l u B.