The Croatan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located on the Atlantic coast of North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, a part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The forest is named after the Algonquin Indian name for the "Council Town."^[1] This article is on national forests in the United States. ... The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of the Earths surface. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... The USDA Forest Service, a United States government agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, is under the leadership of the United States Secretary of Agriculture. ... The United States Department of Agriculture (also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA) is a United States Federal Executive Department (or Cabinet Department). ... This article is about the Native American tribe. ...

Geography

The forest covers 159,886 acres (647km²) of coastal land. It is bordered on three sides by the Neuse River, the Bogue Sound, and the White Oak River. The Croatan Forest is characteristic of its pine forests, salt estuaries, bogs, and pocosins.^[2] The forest is suitable for hiking, camping, hunting, trail biking, and all-terrain vehicles. The surrounding rivers, inland lakes, and creeks allow for swimming, fishing, boating, and canoeing. The forest is close to the cities of New Bern, NC and Morehead City, NC. It also surrounds the Marine Corp Air Station Cherry Point. This article is about the unit of measure known as the acre. ... A bridge over the Neuse River at New Bern, where it empties into the Pamlico Sound. ... The White Oak River is a river, approximately 40 mi (64 km) long, on the coastal plain of southeast North Carolina in the United States. ... Pocosin is a Native American term for a type of palustrine wetland with deep, acidic, sandy, peat soils. ... New Bern is a city located in Craven County, North Carolina where the Trent River and the Neuse River converge. ... Morehead City is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. ... Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point is a United States airfield near New Bern, North Carolina, in the eastern part of the state. ...

Trails

Many hiking trails can be found throughout the Croatan Forest such as the Neusiok Trail which offers 21 miles of trail through swamps and pine forests. Other trails include the Cedar Point Tideland Trail which traverses through a salt marsh and along the White Oak River, the Island Forest Creek Walk featuring a forest of hardwoods, and the Black Swamp OHV Trail which offers eight miles for off-road vehicles and bikes.

Flora and Fauna

The Croatan National Forest is home to many land and marine animals. Some of the wildlife that can be found include deer, various poisonous snakes, black bears, turkeys, ospreys, and alligators. The forest is abundant with pine trees with some hardwood spots including the cypress trees of the swamps. Carnivorous plants such as Venus flytraps, sundew, and pitcherplants may also be found. Genera Actinostrobus Athrotaxis Austrocedrus Callitris - Cypress-pine Callitropsis - Cypress * (Cupressus) Calocedrus - Incense-cedar Chamaecyparis - Cypress Cryptomeria - Sugi Cunninghamia - Cunninghamia Cupressus - Cypress Diselma - Diselma Fitzroya - Alerce Fokienia - Fujian Cypress Glyptostrobus - Chinese Swamp Cypress Juniperus - Juniper Libocedrus Metasequoia - Dawn Redwood Microbiota - Microbiota Neocallitropsis Papuacedrus * (Libocedrus) Pilgerodendron * (Libocedrus) Platycladus - Chinese Arborvitae Sequoia - Coast... Binomial name Dionaea muscipula Soland. ... Species See separate list. ...

See also

• National Forest
• List of U.S. National Forests

This article is on national forests in the United States. ... This is a list of all the National Forests and National Grasslands in the United States. ...

Notes

1. ^ NCNatural (2005). Croatan National Forest. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
2. ^ USDA Forestry Service: "Croatan National Forest" Pg. 2 [Brochure]

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ...

Sources

• http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/index.htm

• http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_forest/nc_north.htm

• U.S. Parks at About.com