History of MCV

Ecological and Geological History of the Morgan Creek Valley

The Morgan Creek Valley is biologically rich, geologically diverse, and ecologically vulnerable. The Morgan Creek watershed contains a network of perennial and intermittent streams that drain approximately 50 square miles of hills, rocky bluffs, and bottomlands. From Morgan Creek’s origin near Pickard’s Mountain, the creek falls approximately 300 feet over a 17-mile run as it makes it way to the upper reaches of Jordan Lake near the intersection of Orange, Durham and Chatham counties.

The Morgan Creek Valley lies within the Carolina State Belt and is part of the Cape Fear River Basin. Morgan Creek, a primary source of both University Lake and Chapel Hill and Carrboro drinking water, is one of the primary streams that feed the New Hope Creek arm of Jordan Lake. It continues as the Haw River then joins the Cape Fear River, which ultimately meets the Atlantic Ocean at Wilmington, NC.

The Morgan Creek Valley possesses some of the more unusual habitats found in the Piedmont. Cooler north-facing slopes support remnant Ice Age populations of Catawba rhododendrons. Dry south and west-facing bluffs contain several rare plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the region. These plants and animals are only a few representatives of the unique Morgan Creek Valley environment.