Neuse: River of Peace
Map showing the Neuse and Tar River watersheds.
Linking North Carolina’s original capital city of New Bern to its current capital of Raleigh, the Neuse River serves as a 250-mile connection between past and future—and the Piedmont and Pamlico Sound. A lot can happen over that kind of distance.
The action gets underway at the headwaters, where the dynamic community of Raleigh-Durham remains one of the fastest growing regions in the nation. The Neuse is one of the longest free-flowing rivers in the Southeast. It is 6 miles wide at its widest point.
The Neuse River Greenway Trail winds through wetlands on a boardwalk and courses alongside the river as Raleigh’s contribution to the state’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail that runs from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. About halfway between Raleigh and the river mouth, the Cliffs of the Neuse rise up as an impressive 100-foot canyon within the coastal plain at Seven Springs. Hiking trails at the surrounding state park explore the riverside habitats and their mature forests and lead to some quiet fishing spots along the waterway.
The Neuse is of the oldest rivers in America formed nearly 2 million years ago. It is a meandering river that through a limestone bluff forming the Cliffs of the Neuse.
The Neuse—derived from the Native American Neusiok tribe and translating to “peace”—is an excellent river to experience the striper run, and is home to several species of fish that split their time between the ocean and freshwater, like shad, herring, and American eel. Many endangered species including the Carolina madtom (a freshwater catfish), Tar River spinymussel, piping plover, dwarf wedge mussel, and loggerhead turtle remain in the Neuse River basin. The Neuse is also home to vital populations of blue crab and oysters.
(https://www.americanrivers.org/river/neuse-river/)
The Neuse has suffered from municipal and agricultural pollution issues for decades now, prompting its listing as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® in 2007 after multiple nominations. Currently, the river is plagued by excessive nitrogen and phosphorous from agricultural-wastewater and polluted-stormwater runoff from urbanized and rural areas.
To Log this earthcache
1. At the posted coordinates view the banks of the river - how many layers do you see and describe the composition of each layer.
2. How might the bank of the river affect the the color of the river?
3. What color is the river at the time of your visit and why?
4. Post a picture of you, your thumb, or your avatar in your log.
Permission to place this earthcache was granted by the management of Old Waynesborough Park.