North Carolina has one of the richest diversities of animal and plant species in the U.S., with 850 vertebrate species and about 5,500 plant species. Below are some of the state’s unique ecosystems.

Southern Appalachian Mountains
 

Big Yellow Mountain Preserve
(photo by Jay Kranyik)

The Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina harbor 57 species of salamanders – the greatest concentration in North America.

Carolina Bays

Antioch Church Bay
(photo by Jeff Lepore)


Carolina bays are elliptical, seasonally-flooded depressions ranging in size from a fraction of an acre to over 5,000 acres wide. Thousands dot the North Carolina coastal plain, where they may have formed when wind and water activity scoured them out during the last ice age. At least fifty reptile and amphibian species inhabit North Carolina’s bays.

Longleaf Pine Savanna

Green Swamp
(photo by Jeff Lepore)

Longleaf Pine savannas contain many rare plant and animal species, including the world’s only naturally-occurring populations of Venus flytraps.