Wilderness Areas of Virginia - Crow's Nest, Stafford County, Virginia (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Crow's Nest is a large wilderness area located on the southern border of Stafford County, Virginia, on Potomac Creek. The greater portion of the Crows Nest Peninsula is approximately 3,800 acres and lies within the coastal plain of Virginia. Virtually the entire Crows Nest Peninsula is forested with an impressive, mature stand of mixed hardwoods. Hardwood forests of this extent are becoming increasingly rare in the Virginia and Chesapeake Bay coastal plain due to prevalent forestry practices and fragmentation of natural areas for development and agriculture. The size and continuity of this hardwood stand enhance its viability and its value in providing a large, unfragmented natural area for diverse organisms. Within a relatively short time (50-100) years, this forest will also comprise a substantial occurrence of old-growth forest with inestimable scientific, biological, and aesthetic values. Currently, trees greater than 60 centimeters (2) diameter at breast height (dbh) are common, and very large relict tree specimens are scattered throughout the site. The entire Crows Nest Peninsula is undeveloped and is primarily forested with mature stands of hardwood trees such as oaks and hickories. This is especially true in the eastern half of the peninsula and the northern slopes facing Accokeek Creek. The coastal plain landscape in this region of Virginia was formed beginning in the late Triassic period, approximately 230 million years ago through the rise and fall of the sea. Crows Nest is approximately five miles in length from east to west, 1.5 miles across and rises 160 feet above the surrounding Accokeek and Potomac Creeks. The peninsula is also highly dissected on its north and south sides by steep ravines flowing into these two fresh-water... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=25092988