Image Index

The Atlantic Ocean began to form about 200 million years ago. Click the image to see the full sequence of globes.

Figure 1. Schematic cross-section with names of scarps (shorelines) and sedimentary formations between them.

Figure 2. A longleaf pine savanna.

Figure 3. Longleaf pines are resistant to the effects of frequent fire.

Figure 4. This sandhill scrub forest is permanently dry.

Figure 5. A pocosin wetland rises above the surrounding terrain.

Figure 6. A pond pine woodland (background).

Figure 7. A hardwood community along the Northwest Cape Fear River in Pender County.

Figure 8. Sawgrass dominates this tidal freshwater marsh.

Figure 9. Both cypress and gum trees have adapted to life in a wetland by spreading their roots wider for stability.

Figure 10. Cypress trees use these “knees” to breathe.

Figure 11. The knees of cypress trees are bare of bark to permit gas exchange.

Figure 12. This bottomland hardwood community is less frequently flooded than the cypress-gum swamp we saw previously.

Figure 13. Downstream, salt water flooding pushes back the mature forest.

Figure 14. Grasses in salt marshes are adapted to wide variations in the salinity of the water.