The estuarine system of the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve is the third largest in the country, encompassing more the . This system is of prime economic importance to the coastal area—90 percent of the commercial seafood species caught in the state spends at least part of their lives in an estuary. The North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve was established to preserve these fragile natural areas and the variety of life they support. The state is representative of two major biogeographic regions located north (

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

n) and south (Carolinian) of

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...

. Therefore, NOAA and the state of

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 ...

created a multi-component reserve with the following sites: Currituck Banks (960 acres near Corolla), Rachel Carson (2,625 acres near Beaufort), Masonboro Island (5,097 acres near Wrightsville Beach) and Zeke's Island (1,165 acres near Kure Beach).

References

North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve

External links

The North Carolina Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve
{{authority control Protected areas of North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserves of the United States Estuaries of North Carolina Protected areas established in 1982 1982 establishments in North Carolina