Jordan Lake has become a regular stop for bald eagles, and there's even a special observation station where visitors can watch these magnificent guests.
For centuries humans have reveled in the beauty of the live oak, sat in its shade, and used its sturdy wood. Today the destruction of the maritime forests in North Carolina and the Southeast imperils the future of this tree.
Until recently, North Carolina's three public aquariums at Fort Fisher, Pine Knoll Shores, and Roanoke Island were relatively unknown; however, their dazzling displays and hands-on programs are rapidly gaining an enthusiastic following.
All ages will love the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, where the history of our nautical past is handsomely preserved. But there's more to the museum than its displays.
With brushes and paint, Alan Cheek records his affection for the Outer Banks, tidal marshes, commercial fishing and colorful artifacts of life in coastal Carolina.
As a result of a restoration project by the US Fish and Wildlife Service at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, red wolves, an important part of North Carolina's wildlife heritage, are reappearing.
Small, scattered and disappearing, mountain bogs are some of our rarest habitats and contain some of the least common plants and animals. Yet we know almost nothing about these tiny, isolated worlds.
Hunting and fishing may not rank as major literary themes, but NC has produced a large and highly readable body of sporting books and articles by such great writers as Robert Ruark and Horace Kephart.
North Carolina's wilderness was widely explored during the 18th century by frontiersmen and plant lovers. Among them were William Bartram, Asa Gray, John Muir and Moses Ashley Curtis.
Linville Gorge is the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River, a priceless wilderness spared at least partly because it was considered too inaccessible to be developed.