The entire sub-basin of Chowan is about 125 miles in length, and where widest 60 miles; but the mean breadth about 30 miles; area 3750 square miles.
Included in the great basin of Albemarle, and drained directly into Albemarle Sound, are two slopes, with very slight descent ; the one to the southward from the sound is drained by the outlet of Lake Phelps and Alligator river; and the oppo site by Perquimans, Pasquotank, North river, and some other smaller inlets. The southern slope em braces the northern and larger section of that flat and inundated peninsula between Pamtico and Al bemarle Sounds; and the opposing plain of similar natural features, comprises the southern part of the peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James, Blackwater, and Chowan rivers and Albemarle Sound. This lower section of Albemarle Basin, including the intermediate sound and bays, is 80 miles long from north to south, with a mean breadth of 60; area 4800 square miles.
From the eastern extremity of Albemarle Sound to the head branch of Roanoke is 290 miles, in a direction from S.E. by E. to N.W. by W. The mean breadth of the basin is within a small frac tion of 58 miles; aggregate area 17,000 square miles very nearly. Extending in Lat. from 350 30' to 37° 25' North, and in Lon. from 1° 30' E. to 3° 24' W. from W.C.
Embracing the entire basin of Albemarle, it pre sents at once a physical section and a physical limit. If we reject the elevated valley fromwhich the remote sources of Roanoke are derived, the difference of level is about 1000 feet, or an equivalent for 21 de grees of latitude in mean temperature.
Exclusive of the peninsula of Florida, which forms another and very distinct natural section, we have, from the Alatamalia to the Roanoke and Chowan inclusive, a great physical section exceed ing one hundred thousand square miles, and em bracing within its extremes a small fraction above six degrees of latitude, and rising from the level of the ocean to upwards of two thousand feet. If the effect of relative height is therefore taken into the estimate, this region comprises fully the extremes of ten degrees of latitude on its mean and extreme temperature. The winter climate on the high val lies drained by the sources of New river, Yadkin, Roanoke, and James river, assimilates to that on the Atlantic coast at latitude 41° or 42° north. This subject will be more particularly and more appro priately noticed under the head of Climate. We proceed to review the commercial connexion of the North Carolina basin, with those on each land side.
Without possessing a previous knowledge of the depth of water, a glance on a map of North Caro lina would suggest the idea, that the Atlantic sec tion was from nature peculiarly fitted for inland na vigation; but a survey of the sounds and small bays discloses the fact, that a depth of seven feet is the utmost that can be calculated on; and further, that the sub-basins of Albemarle and Pamtico, so far from offering greater facilities, oppose very formi dable physical difficulties against connecting the Chesapeake and Cape Fear basins by a line of mixed river and canal navigation.
The basins of Albemarle and Chesapeake are se parated by an almost dead level and marshy penin sula of sixty miles width, and bisected into two very nearly equal sections by the line of demarca tion between North Carolina and Virginia. The geographical position of this peninsula may be par ticularly remembered by the facts, that north lati tude 36° passes nearly along the middle of Albe marle Sound, and 37° enters centrically into the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. The character of this tract is given by the name imposed on its central part. " The Dismal Swamp" is a name and a de scription. From this dreary waste of lakes, swamps, and tangled woods, are discharged Bennet's creek southwardly into Chowan river ; and south-east wardly, Perquimans, Pasquotank, and North river, into Albemarle Sound. On the opposite side Nan semond and Elizabeth rivers carry the surplus wa ter into Hampton Roads, or the mouth of James river. Along the ocean, Currituck Sound extends fifty miles northwardly from that of Albemarle, se parated from the ocean by only a long, narrow, and low reef of sand. The extreme northern part of Currituck Sound approaches to within ten miles of tide water in Lynnhaven Bay. The space, indeed, between the northern end of Currituck Sound and Cape Henry is a continuation of the sand reef stretching from Cape Hatteras to Chesapeake Bay. It may be remarked, that in a distance of 128 miles northward from Cape Hatteras to Chesapeake Bay, the reef has but three openings, New Inlet, South Inlet, and Currituck Inlet; and again south-west ward from Cape Hatteras to the mouth of Cape Fear river, though there are numerous small inlets through the reef, there is but three or four of any commercial or naval importance. Ocracoke Inlet, Cedar Inlet, the pass into Beaufort, and New river Inlet, are the deepest along the south-eastern coast of the great basin of North Carolina. The imprac ticable nature of this coast, of upwards of three hundred miles, with interior waters no where admit ting more than seven feet water, except at the har bour of Beaufort, may be still more strongly de picted by the fewness of inlets. Seventy miles oc curring in one place, having Cape Hatteras near the middle point, without a single pass from the ocean to the interior.