Location
- Located in the southeastern quadrant of Virginia Beach.
Size (shoreline and acreage drained)
- 64,907 acres
- 33% of city
- Second largest watershed in VB
Land Use
- Mostly rural
- Mixed with dense suburban in the north, about 25% of area
Topography
- Western edge of the watershed is a ancient beach dune line (Pungo Ridge).
- Princess Anne Road is built on the Ridge.
- Water on the east side of the Pungo Ridge drains to Back Bay.
- Water on the west side of the Pungo Ridge drains to the North Landing River.
% owned by State or Federal
- Federal land ownership: 15.67% of the watershed
- State land ownership: 9.03% of the watershed
Names of Federal or State properties
- Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (12,290 acres currently with 2800 in Federally approved expansion area)
- Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge
- United States Coast Guard Communications Area Master Station Atlantic, Pungo Transmitter Site
- Navel Air Station Oceana Dam Neck Annex
- Navel Air Station Oceana
- Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area
- False Cape State Park
Major Bodies of Water & Salinity
- Back Bay- mostly fresh water. Salinity varies with the wind tides.
- Northernmost extension of Currituck Sound
Tides
- Back Bay is generally shallow with a few narrow channels.
- Wind-driven tides often inundate the surrounding low land.
- Wind tides, coupled with storm events, influence the physical conditions of the Bay, including salinity, water clarity and nutrient levels.
Recreation Areas (access points, natural areas, parks)
- Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
- Little Island City Park
- False Cape State Park
Plants
- Loblolly pine
- American holly
- Live oak
- Bald cypress
- Black gum
- Other hardwood trees
Wetlands
- Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge includes 10 wetland ponds that are managed for wildlife.
- Primary submerged aquatic vegetation is wild celery
Animals
- Back Bay is renowned for its migrating ducks, snow geese, and tundra swans.
- Ospreys, sandpipers, sanderlings, willets, owls, unusual thrushes, warblers, woodpeckers, piping plovers (endangered), bald eagles and brown pelicans (recovering)
- Nesting site for loggerhead, green and kemp’s ridley sea turtles
- White-tail deer
- Bobcats
- Black bears
Soil Characteristics
- Poorly drained soils may occur at low elevations adjacent to Back Bay
Threats
- Fertilizer and animal waste adversely affects aquatic plant and animal communities.
- Unstable ditch and canal banks and eroding marsh areas contribute sediment and nutrients to nearby streams.
- Submerged aquatic vegetation, certain migratory waterfowl and fish have seriously declined.
- Invasive species such as nutria and phragmities.
History
- Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge established June 6, 1938
- The dunes were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
- Before that there was no continuous dune line.
- Currituck and Back Bay were used for market hunting and many hunting lodges were built and some still exist.
- Many of the islands were inhabited in the past.
- To become the largest largemouth bass area, the community added pumps to manipulate the salinity of the bay for the fish.
- At low tide you can see the remains of old oyster beds.
- In the past the dunes were over washed during storms. Wash Woods was a community with a church and a school. It had a population of about 300. The community was abandoned in the 1930s.
- Windmills at Dam Neck Mills and Red Mill made use of the wind tides to grind grain.
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