Cliffs of the Neuse State Park is a North Carolina state park in Seven Springs, Wayne County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located near

Seven Springs, North Carolina Seven Springs is a town in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. It lies next to the Neuse River. The 2012 population was estimated at 111. It is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town ...

and covers along the southern banks of the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in No ...

. It has a swimming area, camp sites, hiking trails, fishing areas, and picnic areas. The park's

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

features exhibits about the geology and natural history of the

cliffs In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

and the park. Extending for , the series of cliffs rise above the water. Layers of sand,

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

seashells A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

form the multicolored cliff face, a rainbow of white, tan, yellow and brown.

History

The cliffs were formed when a fault in the Earth's crust shifted millions of years ago. The

followed this fault line and, over time, cut its course through layers of sediment deposited by shallow seas that had earlier covered the coastal plain. A portion of the river took a bend against its bank and the water's erosive action slowly carved Cliffs of the Neuse. Much of the human history of the area centers around the river. The

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

and

Saponi The Saponi or Sappony are a Native American tribe historically based in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia.Raymond D. DeMaillie, "Tutelo and Neighboring Groups," pages 286–87. They spoke a Siouan language, related to the languages of ...

Indian tribes once occupied much of the land between the Neuse and Pamlico rivers. What is now the park used to be a ceremonial ground and a gathering place for hunting expeditions. The river was also used for travel into the surrounding wilderness. In 1944, local landowner Lionel Weil, a founder of Goldsboro's historic Oheb Shalom synagogue and uncle of

Gertrude Weil Gertrude Weil (11 December 1879 – 3 May 1971) was an American social activist involved in a wide range of progressive/leftist and often controversial causes, including women's suffrage, labor reform and civil rights. Biography Early life ...

, proposed that the cliffs area along the

be preserved as a state park. The park was established in 1945 when land on the south side of the river was donated by Lionel Weil and other individuals through the Wayne Foundation. An additional contribution of approximately extended the boundary east of the river. Additional purchases and donations increased the park to its present size of .

Wildlife

A range of habitats contributes to the variety of plants in the park. River margins, flood plains, rolling uplands and ravines are home to a large mixture of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. More than 420 species of plants have been recorded in the park.

Opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es, and

squirrels Squirrels are members of the family (biology), family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flyi ...

are common in the campground and along hiking trails, while river otter and

muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...

can be seen swimming along the waterways. Reptiles and amphibians are equally at home in the wetland and aquatic habitats. Most of the snakes are nonvenomous, although copperheads are present. Small nocturnal rodents and

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

live in the area but are discreet and seldom seen. Sightings of black bears and a

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

have taken place at the park. Birds are abundant in the park during any season. The

northern parula The northern parula (''Setophaga americana'') is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida. Description The northern parula is one of the smaller North American migratory warblers, often being ...

nests in clumps of

Spanish moss Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the Southern Uni ...

while the

prothonotary warbler The prothonotary warbler (''Protonotaria citrea'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is named for its plumage which resembles the yellow robes once worn by papal clerks (named prothonotaries) in the Roman Catholic church. ...

lives along the river. Fall and winter bring a host of migratory waterfowl to the area to join the native

wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...

References

External links

* {{authority control State parks of North Carolina Protected areas of Wayne County, North Carolina Museums in Wayne County, North Carolina Natural history museums in North Carolina Protected areas established in 1945