Cliffs of the Neuse State Park

Extending for 600 yards, this spectacular series of cliffs rises 90 feet above the Neuse River. Students will learn how these cliffs were formed and about the wildlife that live here when they visit Cliffs of the Neuse State Park.

http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/clne/home.html

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• Rock Hounds Tools, rules and everything you need to become a rock "hound." Animations, demonstrations, quizzes and puzzels about Sedimentary, Metamorphic and Igneous rocks.
• Investigate and Report on Erosion Wind, water, ice, insects, and even people help to move soil and wear away the surface of the planet. Your mission is to investigate one way that erosion shapes your neighborhood and then write about it.
• Lesson plan: North Carolina Rivers Students will locate 28 rivers within the state of NC, noting names and origins of names, directions of flow, navigability, and development of population centers in relation to the rivers.
• North Carolina Geological Survey Explore the geological maps of North Carolina, learn about the minerals that can be found there, and check out the questions that students are asking geologists.
• Lesson plan: How sedimentary rocks are formed This Science NetLinks lesson briefly reviews the rock cycle in general and then focuses on sedimentary rocks. Students do a hands-on activity using mixed nuts to illustrate the layering of sedimentary rocks.

Related pages

• Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center: This 4-H Educational Center provides year-round programming, including team-building and environmental education to students in 2nd through 6th grades.
• Carolina Beach State Park: Developed in the late 1960s, this state park preserves the unique environment along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Venus Flytrap and other plant life, the dunes, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals are all protected in this special place.
• Raven Rock State Park: Located along the fall zone where the Piedmont becomes the Sand Hills, Raven Rock State Park "is a testament to the forces that have shaped the land."

Related topics

• Learn more about American Indians, North Carolina, Wayne County, amphibians, biology and life science, ecosystems, environment, erosion, fossils, geology, habitats, natural history, prehistoric life, rivers, science, and state parks.

Legal

Once considered an area where the spring waters cured "whatever ailed you", the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park is visited now for different reasons. The area is known for its cliffs rising above the Neuse River and for its human history of the ancient Tuscarora and Saponi Indian tribes. Plant and animal life is also abundant in the park.

The North Carolina State Parks website offers a search feature for finding the plants and animals that can be found at each state park. Using the drop-down menus, you can choose a park and either an amphibian, bird, reptile, mammal, fungus, insect, or vascular plant. You can search within each group by family, scientific name, or common name. There are photographs from the state parks and fun facts for some of the species.

Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about Cliffs of the Neuse State Park. Educational materials about park have been developed for grades 6-8 and are correlated to North Carolina’s competency-based curriculum in science, social studies, mathematics and English/language arts. The Cliffs of the Neuse program introduces students to basic geologic concepts, including geologic history, fossils and prehistoric life, and erosion. Accompanying the program is a teacher’s booklet and workshop, free of charge to educators.

Each state park and recreation area has an EELE (environmental education learning experience) curriculum guide that includes on-site activities, pre- and post-visit activities, student information pages, worksheets, fact sheets, vocabulary, and references. You can receive a free copy of an EELE by attending its corresponding workshop at a park, or you can borrow these guides through interlibrary loan at any public library in North Carolina. The EELE for Cliffs of the Neuse State Park is “The Cliffs of Time” for grades 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Call the park office Monday thru Friday 8 – 5 at (919) 778-6234 for more information.

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