Bald Head island is an old barrier island.  It is located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River.  Bald Head Island is actually no longer an island, but a peninsula.  It used to be an island.  It was separated from the mainland by a narrow body of water, called an inlet.  Over time, the inlet filled in with sand.

Because Bald Head Island is at the mouth of the river, it is affected by both the river estuary and the ocean.  The marshes on the back of the island are part of the estuarine environment.  The beaches on the front of the island are patrt of the ocean environment. 

As the river meets the ocean, it becomes shallow and slow.  Much of the sediment that it carries drops to the floor of the estuary.  These sediments build up and are moved around by the tides.  Over time, they form shallow land where marsh plants can grow.  This is how the marshes behind Bald Head Island formed. 

The sides of the island that face the ocean are battered by waves and wind every day.   Sandy beaches build up along these coasts.  They have sand dunes that shift in the wind.  The dunes provide some shelter for the forests in the middle of the island.

The picture to the left is a photograph of Bald Head Island that was taken from an airplane.  You can see all of the different parts of the island from the air.

Click on the aerial photograph to begin exploring Bald Head Island.