Coastal Plain
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The Coastal Plain-Continental Shelf Provinces were formed first. They were formed between the Quaternary and the Jurassic Periods.The Coastal Province of North Carolina is divided into northern and southern. The Northern Coastal Province is closer to the
continental shelf and it is more narrow and deeper. It is also along the barrier islands with not many inlets. The Southern Coastal Province is farther from the continental shelf and more shallow with less waves.
The Barrier Islands were formed about 18,000 years ago when the last Ice Age ended. When the glaciers melted and receded, the sea levels began to rise, and flooded areas behind the beach ridges at that time. The rising waters carried sediments from those beach ridges and deposited them along shallow areas just off the new coast lines. Waves and currents continued to bring in sediments that built up, forming the barrier islands.