Tar-Pamlico River Basin Analysis

Big Picture

Figure 1. Map of all River Basins in North Carolina

Path of Water

The Tar-Pamlico River basin originating in Person County, in North Carolina’s Piedmont region. The fourth largest basin in the state (Clean Water Edu.) bordered by the Roanoke River Basin to the north and northwest, the Pasquotank River Basin to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Neuse River Basin to the southwest and south. It extends from its headwaters in the north central Piedmont section and terminates at the Pamlico Sound which then dumps out in the North the Atlantic.It is also one of four river basins that lie entirely within the State boundaries.(Figure 1) The basin originates in the Piedmont region in Person and Granville

There are two distinct portions of the Tar-Pamlico River basin: the upper one-fifth in the Piedmont region and the lower four-fifths in the Coastal Plain region due to this difference in location most of the Tar River is freshwater, whereas the Pamlico River is entirely estuarine.From the Headwaters located by Oxford, NC, water flows down through the Upper Tar River until it hits Rocky Mountain. From there the Upper tar it conjoins with a smaller river that flows north towards Tarboro. It is here that we see the introduction of the two other major bodies of water that flow into the Tar River; Fishing Creek and Swift Creek. Both north of the Upper Tar they similarly flow down to the intersection by Tarboro and mix with the waters of the Upper Tar. This conjoining of the three bodies of water also marks the beginning of the Tar River. Although smaller creeks, stream, and rivers intermingle with these 3 bodies of water it is ultimately their water that get primarily funneled into the Tar River. We see the last of the streams, rivers and creeks that dump out into the Tar around Washington city, here we are at the mouth of the Pamlico sound. Once the water from the tar river mixes with that of the Pamlico Sound it is then dumped into the North Atlantic Ocean. (Figure

Approximately four-fifths of the Tar-Pamlico River Basin is located within the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina while the remaining one-fifth lies within the Piedmont region. Slow Moving streams surrounded by swamps, forests, low-lying marshes, and estuarine areas characterize the water flow in the Coastal Plain region.The Coastal Plain portion features slow-moving blackwater streams, low-lying swamps, and productive estuarine waters. The larger waterbodies are meandering, often lined with swamps and bottomland hardwoods, and often have naturally low dissolved oxygen and pH. Soils are deep sands that have a high groundwater storage capacity.There are 80 miles of impaired stream in the Tar-Pamlico River basin and all waters in the basin have a supplemental classification of Nutrient Sensitive Waters (NCDWQ