Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve

Brunswick County may be well-known for popular beach towns like Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach, but botanists hold North Carolina's southernmost county in high regard for an entirely different reason - Brunswick County is home to the greatest number of rare plant species in the state - the Green Swamp Region, in particular Brunswick County is located in the heart of the Cape Fear region, which contains the richest flora along the Atlantic Coast north of Florida. The moderating effects of the Gulf Stream, the high occurrence of natural fires, the considerable amount of marl (limestone) underlying parts of the county, and the wealth of longleaf pine habitats and wetlands contribute to the region's extraordinary plant life. Boiling Springs Lake wetland complex contains a fascinating cross section of the Cape Fear region's natural communities. Though the area's dense vegetation may look foreboding, this preserve offers a rare glimpse of a vanishing landscape. Located partially within the town of Boiling Spring Lakes, the natural area contains a mosaic of unusual geologic features. A series of parallel ridges and swales are the remnants of an ancient dune system. A large concentration ofCarolina bays (elliptical wetland depressions) studs the landscape. Fire-dependent natural communities, including high and low pocosins (evergreen shrub bogs) and longleaf pine savannas and flatwoods on the ridges and bay rims, form an intricate mosaic of habitats.