The river draws its name from the treacherous off shore shoals (dubbed the “Cape of Feare” by early mariners). The shoals stretch for miles into the Atlantic from the river’s mouth. The Cape Fear River and its tributaries were impor tant highways for early commerce through the historic ports of Brunswick, Charles town and Wilmington. In the mid-1800s, the Cape Fear was an outlet for the commercial products of more than 28 counties. River trade extended up to Fayetteville through a series of three locks and dams that raised the water level.
Through-out the 19th century, shallow-draft steamboats called at more than 100 local landings between Fayetteville and Wilmington. The Cape Fear River Basin is one of four river basins completely contained within North Carolina’s borders. The head -waters (origin) of the basin are the Deep and Haw rivers. These rivers
converge in Chatham County just below B. Everett Jordan Dam to form the Cape Fear River .
The river ends as a 35-mile-long coastal estuary that is an important nursery area for juvenile fish, crabs and shrimp. Large industries lining the lower Cape Fear make the basin North Caro lina’s most indus trialized. The basin also con tains one-fifth of the state’s popula -tion. Major tribu taries include the Black River, which flows into the Cape Fear River in Pender County, and the Northeast Cape Fear River, which flows into the Cape Fear at Wilming ton. These are both “blackwater” streams that drain the acidic soils of hardwood swamps.
What makes the Cape Fear River Basin special? See for yourself. Visit these Environmental Education Centers to discover more about your ecological address:
- Agape Center for Environmental Education
- Airlie Gardens
- American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
- Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Educational Center
- Cabin Lake Park
- Cape Fear Botanical Garden
- Cape Fear Museum
- Cape Fear River Watch Inc.
- Carnivore Preservation Trust
- Carolina Beach State Park
- Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World at Timberlake Farm
- Clark Park Nature Center
- Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
- Frank Sharpe Jr. Wildlife Education Center
- Halyburton Park
- Harris Energy and Environmental Center / Harris Plant Visitors Center
- Harris Lake County Park
- Haw River Program/Haw River State Park
- Jones Lake State Park
- Jordan Lake Educational State Forest
- Jordan Lake State Recreation Area
- Jordan Lake Visitor Assistance Center
- Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center
- Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch: Environmental Education Focus Library
- Lake Higgins Environmental Education Center
- Lake Rim Park
- Marine Quest: UNC-W Center for Marine Science
- Morehead Planetarium and Science Center
- Natural Science Center of Greensboro
- New Hanover County Arboretum
- North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
- North Carolina Botanical Garden
- North Carolina Coastal Reserve Program
- North Carolina Zoological Park
- Piedmont Biofuels
- Piedmont Environmental Center
- Public Works Commission Watershed Education Center
- Raven Rock State Park
- R.C. Cliff Payne Woodmen Camp
- Rockfish Outdoor Center
- San-Lee Environmental Education and Recreation Park
- Screech Owl Farm School
- Singletary Lake State Park
- Turnbull Creek Educational State Forest
- Weymouth Woods – Sandhills Nature Preserve
- Wilmington Children’s Museum