Federal Point Basin

Figure 10. Federal Point Basin. (Photograph by the author. More about the photograph)

A few miles south of Snow’s Cut, past Fort Fisher and the ferry to Southport, we come to the Federal Point Basin. The basin is part of the Zeke’s Island Estuarine Reserve and is a research area for scientists at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Here again we can see several habitats in close proximity. The sandy beach at the right is home to windsurfers on the weekend. At low tide, just below the small patch of grass, is a sand/mud flat inhabited by fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator). Cordgrass at the water’s edge gives way to salt marsh reeds and finally to a stand of shrubs and oak. The water in this basin is nearly full strength seawater, while the river adjacent is less so. How is that? The next photo gives a clue.

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