Geography, Geology, and Environment

  

Photo Courtesy of Jane Robb

Climate

 

Annual Average Temperature:

64°

Winter 46°

Summer 76°

 

Growing Season:

227 days

 

Average Rainfall:

52.84"/year

 

Average Snowfall:

2.3"/year

 

Geography

 

Average Elevation:

15 feet

 

Total Area:

576 Square Miles

369,000 Acres

 

Land Area:

341 Square Miles

218,000 Acres

 

Water Area:

235 Square Miles

151,000 Acres

 

 

Situated on a peninsula marking the center of North Carolina's Lower Coastal Plain, Pamlico County is a rich environment of land and water.  A variety of habitats are found throughout the area, including open sound water, marshlands, and mixed pine and hardwood forests.  Wildlife is abundant.

 

The county is mostly bordered by water on three sides:  Goose Creek and the Pamlico River on the north, Upper Broad Creek on the western boundary, the Neuse River to the south.

 

Salt marshes comprise approximately 16,660 acres (7%) of the land area.  The Minnesott Ridge, which runs along NC Highway 306 was formed at the shoreline of an ancient ocean.  The elevation along this ridge is approximately 45 feet above sea level and is the highest area in the county.

 

In the central and northern parts of the county, organic soils are in large pocosins.  The pocosins appear flat, but have a gentle slope, but surface runoff is very slow. 

 

Pamlico County is hot and humid in the summer, but the coast is frequently cooled by the sea breezes.  Winter is cool, with occasional brief cold spells.

 
 

More Information

Rivers, Bays, Creeks, Guts, & Swamps
NC Division of Coastal Management
NC Floodplain Mapping Information System
Pamlico County Soils (CGIA)
Understanding Buffer Rules ... (downloadable brochure 701K)

The Pamlico County Chamber of Commerce  v P.O. Box 23    v Bayboro, NC 28515-0023  v   252-745-3008