Lake Mattamuskeet
Encyclopedia
Lake Mattamuskeet is the largest natural lake
in North Carolina
. It is a shallow coastal lake, averaging 2-3 feet in depth, and stretches 18 miles (29 km) long and 7 miles (11.3 km) wide. Lake Mattamuskeet lies on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula
.
Lake Mattamuskeet is the location of Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge
. This refuge as well as surrounding public and private lands in eastern North Carolina are a major wintering site for waterfowl including ducks like northern pintail
and green-wing teal, geese like Canada geese and Tundra swans.
, located along the southern shore of Lake Mattamuskeet.Between 1911 and 1934, three private investment companies partnered with the public Mattamuskeet Drainage District to build the world's largest capacity pumping plant and dredge 130 miles (209.2 km) of large navigable canals to drain 50000 acres (202.3 km²) Lake Mattamuskeet for residential, commercial, and agricultural development. The lake drainage project also gave badly needed drainage relief to about 550 farmers around the lake whose farms drained by gravity into the huge lakebed. The investors created a community within the reclaimed lakebed and named it "New Holland," after similar land reclamation projects in the Netherlands. The drainage project ended when the third private owner sold the lake property to the United States government in 1934 to allow the creation of a migratory bird refuge. Today, Lake Mattamuskeet and the old town site of New Holland are on Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. The community on the south central side of Lake Mattamuskeet is still called "New Holland Community."
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. It is a shallow coastal lake, averaging 2-3 feet in depth, and stretches 18 miles (29 km) long and 7 miles (11.3 km) wide. Lake Mattamuskeet lies on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula
Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula
Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula is a large peninsula on the North Carolina coast, lying between the Albemarle Sound to the north and the Pamlico Sound to the south. The 5 counties of Dare, Hyde, Beaufort, Tyrrell, and Washington all lie wholly or partly on the peninsula.Much of the peninsula is...
.
Lake Mattamuskeet is the location of Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge
The Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge is a federally protected wildlife refuge located within Hyde County, North Carolina, USA. North Carolina's largest natural lake, Lake Mattamuskeet, is located entirely within the National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has a total area of 50,173.93 acres...
. This refuge as well as surrounding public and private lands in eastern North Carolina are a major wintering site for waterfowl including ducks like northern pintail
Northern Pintail
The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...
and green-wing teal, geese like Canada geese and Tundra swans.
New Holland
New Holland is a community in Hyde County, North CarolinaHyde County, North Carolina
-National protected areas:* Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge * Cape Hatteras National Seashore * Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge* Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge * Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
, located along the southern shore of Lake Mattamuskeet.Between 1911 and 1934, three private investment companies partnered with the public Mattamuskeet Drainage District to build the world's largest capacity pumping plant and dredge 130 miles (209.2 km) of large navigable canals to drain 50000 acres (202.3 km²) Lake Mattamuskeet for residential, commercial, and agricultural development. The lake drainage project also gave badly needed drainage relief to about 550 farmers around the lake whose farms drained by gravity into the huge lakebed. The investors created a community within the reclaimed lakebed and named it "New Holland," after similar land reclamation projects in the Netherlands. The drainage project ended when the third private owner sold the lake property to the United States government in 1934 to allow the creation of a migratory bird refuge. Today, Lake Mattamuskeet and the old town site of New Holland are on Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. The community on the south central side of Lake Mattamuskeet is still called "New Holland Community."