The CDP is bounded on the east by the center of the Catawba River, forming the Catawba County/Iredell County line; on the south by the Lincoln County line; and on the west and north by several rural roads, extending as far north as Long Island Road.

The Marshall Steam Station, a coal power plant operated by Duke Energy, is located in the CDP just northeast of downtown Terrell.

On December 11, 2014, Duke Energy, to repair a rusted, leaking pipe, received approval from North Carolina to dump Coal Ash (containing arsenic, lead, thallium and mercury, among other heavy metals) from the Marshall Steam Station into Lake Norman.

[6] On October 3, 2015, Duke reported that a sinkhole had formed at the base of the Marshall Steam Station dam north of Charlotte on Lake Norman.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) says Duke placed a liner in the hole and filled it with crushed stone.