Philip Gerard
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781469602073
- eISBN:
- 9781469608136
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469602073.003.0016
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This chapter shows that the route to the actual Cape Fear on Bald Head Island is circuitous and expensive. The cape, of course, is a shifty piece of real estate. In this part of the world, sand ...
More
This chapter shows that the route to the actual Cape Fear on Bald Head Island is circuitous and expensive. The cape, of course, is a shifty piece of real estate. In this part of the world, sand migrates south and west, as a rule, according to currents and tides, but storms tend to plough through these low islands, moving thousands of tons of sand in hours. The relentless undertow of large wave trains sucks sand off beaches and furrows it into shoals offshore. Dredging the long fairway into the ship channel undoubtedly contributes something—nobody can agree on exactly what—to the whole restless equation. The cape can be thus thought of as an indeterminate place, partly submerged, where land turns into treacherous water.Less
This chapter shows that the route to the actual Cape Fear on Bald Head Island is circuitous and expensive. The cape, of course, is a shifty piece of real estate. In this part of the world, sand migrates south and west, as a rule, according to currents and tides, but storms tend to plough through these low islands, moving thousands of tons of sand in hours. The relentless undertow of large wave trains sucks sand off beaches and furrows it into shoals offshore. Dredging the long fairway into the ship channel undoubtedly contributes something—nobody can agree on exactly what—to the whole restless equation. The cape can be thus thought of as an indeterminate place, partly submerged, where land turns into treacherous water.
Philip Gerard
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781469602073
- eISBN:
- 9781469608136
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9781469608129_Gerard
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This book invites readers onto the fabled waters of the Cape Fear River and guides them on the 200-mile voyage from the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers at Mermaid Point all the way to the Cape ...
More
This book invites readers onto the fabled waters of the Cape Fear River and guides them on the 200-mile voyage from the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers at Mermaid Point all the way to the Cape of Fear on Bald Head Island. Accompanying the author by canoe and powerboat are a cadre of people passionate about the river, among them a river guide, a photographer, a biologist, a river keeper, and a boat captain. Historical voices also lend their wisdom to our understanding of this river, which has been a main artery of commerce, culture, settlement, and war for the entire region since it was first discovered by Verrazzano in 1524. The author explores the myriad environmental and political issues being played out along the waters of the Cape Fear. These include commerce and environmental stewardship, wilderness and development, suburban sprawl and the decline and renaissance of inner cities, and private rights versus the public good.Less
This book invites readers onto the fabled waters of the Cape Fear River and guides them on the 200-mile voyage from the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers at Mermaid Point all the way to the Cape of Fear on Bald Head Island. Accompanying the author by canoe and powerboat are a cadre of people passionate about the river, among them a river guide, a photographer, a biologist, a river keeper, and a boat captain. Historical voices also lend their wisdom to our understanding of this river, which has been a main artery of commerce, culture, settlement, and war for the entire region since it was first discovered by Verrazzano in 1524. The author explores the myriad environmental and political issues being played out along the waters of the Cape Fear. These include commerce and environmental stewardship, wilderness and development, suburban sprawl and the decline and renaissance of inner cities, and private rights versus the public good.
