- - 

Coasta 


North Caro 

Activity Book 
The coast of NoHh Carolina is fringed by a string of barrier 

islands (Outer Banks) separated from the mainland by 

sfna!!ow scunds. North Carding has 23 barrier islands. 

The Outer 


between the 


Outer Banks is 


accrete as sand is 


disappear; navigation 


dunes form, disappear, 


estimated that 500,000 to 1million 


transported along the Outer Banks 

66,000 dump truck loads! 

4% 


9 North Carolina has 301miles of coasfline, .*spy and 3,375 miles of 

t3dal shoreline. 

tq q 'h
 Coastal North Carolina contains mHjdifferent ecosystems 

including ocean beaches&a$d ddeq paritime forests, salt 

*%@yv marshes, and tidal flats 91$h?%ktend for hundreds of miles 

along the coast. "r 

5,*$ 

The c~ol Virgini rent and the warmer Gulf Stream meet 

at Cape Hatteras a result of these different water 

temperatu what different plants and animals may 

be found n uth of the Cape. 

At least 393 ships are known to have wrecked along the 

Outer Banks between 1526and 1940. Wrecked ships form 

artificial reefs and provide homes for many animals. 
In the summer female loggerhead turtles 

come to shore and dig holes in the warm sand 

beaches to lay their eggs. 
Connect the dotsto find a 

mon shore bird, 
C~Myou Find Bhese CocrsEcrl flor8h 


ecmolincz mords? 

The words are found down, across, and diagonally. 

C X L I G H T H O U S E Y U S 

C A S G G H E L K V K P K L 

S E P E O T F J M Y N E N S C 

X F H E S T U A R Y I A K S A 

B M E N H A D E N R B G U H P 

E W S F D A C B Y R H O S E E 

A N E H G F T V E Z S J O L L 

C L A M S R G T W R V H U L O 

H J G O - K E U G E X E M N S 0 

Z F U C Y O K T C R U A D L K 

K E L E V N S Q S Y A R B R O 

U B L A W Y K C R A B S L M U 

F G X N O N P U Q A I H F O T 

C B A R R I E R I S L A N D P 

N O R T H C A R O L I N A N C 

Sound 

Barrier Island 

Outer Banks 

Cape Lookout 

Cape Hatteras 

Estuary 

Marsh 

Menhaden 

Whelk 

Seagull 

Beach 

Shells 

Ocean 

Lighthouse 

Oysters North Carolina 

Crabs Clams 
Color me? 


Bottlenose dolphins can be seen yearround off the coast, in the sounds, 

estuaries, and up the rivers south of 

Cape Hatteras. 
Can you draw a line between the predator (eater) and the prey 

(eaten)? 
Can you help the pelican find its dinner of fish? 

Whelks are big, ocean-going snails. They can be up to a 

foot long. Whelk egg eases are often found on the beach. 

Each disc can contain a hundred eggs. 
Sea Stars, sometimes called starfish, can grow a 

new arm if one breaks off. 
Color me! 


Hermit crabs have no shells of their own, 

so they use the empty shells of other 

animals as their home. As they grow they 

have to seek larger shells to move into. 

Posts from docks and piers provide homes for a variety 

of different organisms - plants such as sea lettuce, 

invertebrates such as sponges and oysters, and many 

different kinds of fish. 
American Eels are freshwater fish that travel to the 

ocean to reproduce. Can you help this eel finds its way 

to the Sargasso Sea? 
Sunlight provides the original source of energy for the 

entire community. Producers (such as plankton) absorb 

the Sun's energy and use inorganic nutrients from the 

environment. Consumers (such as sharks, fish, birds) eat 

plants or other animals. Decomposers (such as crabs) 

convert dead material to inorganic nutrients. 
C~Myou !Findtz Fish, cz sea skzr, 

md cz sea horse hidden in Ghe 

seameed? 
Did you know that horseshoe crabs are one of the oldest 

living animals on the earth? They are called living fossils 

because their appearance has not changed in 360 million 

years. 
On barrier islands currents move sand along the coast. 

The arrow shows the direction the water is moving. 

Which drawing best shows what happens when the 

sand and water meet with a rock jetty? 
Adult 

Zoea 

Blue Crab Life Cycle 

Did you know that a single female blue crab can produce 

up to eight million eggs in one mating season? Of the 

many eggs that hatch, as few as two may live to 

reproduce, therefore it is very important to minimize 

capture of the female blue crab. 
Flounder begin life like other fish - upright, 

with eyes on opposite sides of the head. 

Gradually, they begin listing to one side, and 

one eye migrates to the "topw side. They 

spend the rest of their life sideways, 

swimming and lying flat on the bottom. 
Ccni yea Filzd Bhese Barrier lslcnid 


words? 

The words are found down, across, aid diagonally. 

Tide Beach 

Current Ocean 

Wave Inlet 

Wind Outer Banks 

Transport Sound 

Wrecks Dune 
Puffer fish are named for their habit of 

swallowing water and ballooning to twice their 

size when threatened. When inflated, puffers are 

too big for predators to swallowand the confused 

predators give up in search of easier prey. Puffers 

also produce a powerful poison -tetrodotoxin - that is toxic to people and other animals. 
The words are found down, across, and diagonally 

Nho Ws Whom? 

You draw Uric &*em the phtor (enter) nnd the prey 

c--)7 
Sand and Jetty:A 

Ca you .Find ghese Bcrrrier Islad 

words? 

The words are found down, across, and diagonally. 
Which two are the same: 3 4 
Regional Activity Book Series: 

1. Chesapeake Bay Activity Book -http://w~u.~~ccos.noaa.~o~~/education/cbbool~ 

2. Coastal North Carolina Activity Book -

l~ttp://~~~.coastalscience.noaa.~ov/education/~~cbook.pdf 


Copies of this material can be downloaded from: 

11ttp://www.coastalscience.noaa.gov/education~ncbook.pdf 


Produced by: <+oToF co 

Dr. Susan Baker, NOAA National Centers for + t , :.i ++$+ Q ;. Coastal Ocean Sciences .--* 2

--?.L, 1* 

Dr. Ruth Kelty, NOAA National Centers for q T+.* 

Coastal Ocean Sciences all, +$ 5.74.srES O* p+