Botany of the Carolinas Coastal Plain, Part 18: Up a Not-So-Lazy River, Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, North Carolina, USA

Facing northeastward and upstream.

This view of the Neuse River at pretty high water on a sultry summer afternoon captures, for me at least, the very essence of the lush Atlantic Coastal Plain and its unambitious streams. The verdant bottomland-forest community, the limpid sediment-laden water, the hazy sky—just what one would expect in this corner of the world.

But, as usual, appearances are deceiving. Here the Neuse has managed to cut down and expose, on the southwestern bank, a cliff approximately 80 ft (24 m) high. The reason the cliff isn't visible here is that I'm standing on top of it.

Most of the exposure reveals a portion of the remarkable Late Cretaceous Black Creek Formation, a layer-cake of strata of unconsolidated sands and clays. These document transgressions of the Atlantic Ocean over the Coastal Plain, a consequence of rising global sea level. And above the Black Creek are Tertiary beds capped by Quaternary sands and gravels.

As far as the botany goes, I think I'll just stand back here and enjoy it in aggregate. And what a wonderful panorama of rampant photosynthesis it truly is. One day not far removed, this place will be under saltwater again. It's best to enjoy the terrestrial phase while one still can.

The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Botany of the Carolinas Coastal Plain album.

Taken in: United States / North Carolina / Indian Springs Township / Seven Springs (show map)

Taken on: July 29, 2003

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Cliffs of the Neuse State Park

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Camera: Sony CD MAVICA, f/8.0, 1/500 sec, 7mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony CD MAVICA
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	7mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
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