Geography of North Carolina

Introduction to Geography of North Carolina

North Carolina, one of the Southern states of the United States. It is bounded by Virginia, the Atlantic Ocean, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The area is 53,821 square miles (139,397 km 2).

Physical Geography

North Carolina divides into three major topographic regions, each crossing the state in a predominantly northeast-southwest direction. They are the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the Blue Ridge. The Piedmont Plateau and Blue Ridge are subdivisions of the Appalachian Highlands region.

The Atlantic Coastal Plain is a low, sandy, and relatively flat land extending 100 to 150 miles (160 to 240 km) inland from the coast. It occupies almost half of the state. In the east, this region ends in a narrow chain of sandy islands, known as the Outer Banks, that run the width of the state. They lie close to shore in the south, but just as much as 30 miles (48 km) out to sea in the north. Distinctive features include sandy beaches; high, shifting dunes; and such prominent capes as Hatteras, Lookout, and Fear. The treacherous waters off Cape Hatteras, the site of many shipwrecks, are known as the “graveyard of the Atlantic.”

Along the coast and reaching up to 80 miles (130 km) inland, is a poorly drained section of the coastal plain, known as the Tidewater area. It is dotted with numerous marshes and swamps, the largest of which is Dismal Swamp. Elevation gradually increases and drainage improves with distance inland. The rest of the coastal plain is flat to gently rolling, except for a hilly section, called the Sand Hills, near the western edge.

The Piedmont Plateau is a rolling to hilly upland that covers much of the rest of the state. It begins at the fall line, a sharp slope where the upland meets the coastal plain, and extends westward to the Blue Ridge. There are numerous rapids and waterfalls where rivers cross the fall line. Elevations vary from about 400 feet (120 m) in the east to almost 1,500 feet (460 m) in the west. Unlike the coastal plain, which is devoted mainly to farming and forestry, the Piedmont is a highly diversified region of agriculture, manufacturing, and commerce. On the Piedmont are nearly all of North Carolina's major cities and the bulk of its population.

The Blue Ridge is a mountainous region that rises abruptly from the Piedmont in the western part of the state. The terrain is generally rough to rugged, with high peaks, deep valleys, and heavily forested slopes. In the east are the Blue Ridge Mountains, the region's dominant range. Also included are the Great Smokies, which lie on the North Carolina-Tennessee state line. This range is the principal feature of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mount Mitchell, reaching 6,684 feet (2,037 m) in the Black Mountains northeast of Asheville, is the highest of the state's many peaks and the loftiest in the eastern United States.

North Carolina's chief rivers begin either in the Blue Ridge or on the Piedmont and flow southeasterly to the Atlantic Ocean. Among them are the Chowan, Roanoke, Tar (called Pamlico in its estuary), Neuse, and Cape Fear rivers. Flowing south into South Carolina are the Catawba and the Pee Dee. Most of the rivers deep in the Blue Ridge region are headwater streams of the westerly flowing Tennessee. Such rivers include the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, and French Broad.

Three large sounds—Pamlico, Albemarle, and Currituck—and numerous smaller ones connect and form an extensive system of inland water along the northern part of the coast. Some of these arms of the sea jut far inland as broad, shallow estuaries.

Dotting the coastal plain are most of North Carolina's natural lakes, chief of which are Mattamuskeet, Phelps, and Waccamaw. Elsewhere, especially on the Piedmont, are man-made reservoirs created mainly for hydroelectric power. They include Lake Gaston and John H. Kerr Reservoir on the Roanoke River; High Rock Lake on the Yadkin; and Lake Norman on the Catawba River.

North Carolina has a subtropical kind of climate that is partly affected by the cold, continental type found to the north and west. Within the state, climatic variations occur from southeast to northwest, mainly because of the land's increased elevation and distance from the ocean.

Except in the higher parts of the mountains, summers are long and vary from warm to hot. Average July temperatures decline from about 80° F. (27° C.) along the south coast to 75° F. (24° C.) on the Piedmont and 67° F. (19° C.) at some mountain locations. Summer daytime temperatures often rise above 90° F. (32° C.), but rarely reach 100° F. (38° C.).

Winters are relatively mild, for the mountains form a partial barrier to the cold weather that moves southeastward from the interior of the country. Average January temperatures range from a high of almost 50° F. (10° C.) in the southeast to as little as 35° F. (2° C.) in some northwest mountain areas. There is little extremely cold weather, especially east of the mountains.

Precipitation is abundant during all seasons; summer, however, is the wettest time of the year. East of the mountains the annual fall is 40 to 55 inches (1,000 to 1,400 mm); in the mountains, 37 inches (940 mm) to more than 80 inches (2,000 mm). Up to 50 inches (1,270 mm) of snow fall in the mountains each winter. Only 1 to 8 inches (25 to 200 mm) fall on the coastal plain and the Piedmont.

At the time of the first settlements, the land was almost entirely forested. Today, about two-thirds of North Carolina's land area is forested; most of the forests have been cut over repeatedly.

In the tidewater area trees that tolerate wet conditions, such as water tupelo and bald cypress, are found. In general, the coastal plain and Piedmont support pine forests and some mixed hardwoods. Loblolly, longleaf, slash, and shortleaf pines, yellow poplar, red oak, and white oak predominate. The forests of the Blue Ridge have a wide variety of trees, including various kinds of pine and oak, as well as hemlock, poplar, hickory, and ash. North Carolina is noted for such broadleaf evergreens as rhododendron, especially azalea; mountain laurel; and American holly.

Economy

Today, banking and research and development activities are among the numerous major economic enterprises in North Carolina. The state's leading manufactured products are chemicals and tobacco products.

Finance, insurance, and real estate ranks first among North Carolina's service industry groups. Charlotte is one of the country's major financial centers. The community, business, and personal services group ranks as the state's leading employer. Duke University in Durham is a leading center of research for medicine and other fields. Enterprises devoted to industrial research and development are found in Research Triangle Park, in the Raleigh-Durham area.

North Carolina is one of the nation's top producers of tobacco products, textiles, and furniture. The manufacturing of processed foods and beverages is also important.

The Piedmont Plateau is the most industrialized part of the state. Among the main manufacturing centers are the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point area, and Charlotte, Gastonia, Raleigh, and Durham.

The raising of livestock and poultry accounts for the majority of the state's farm income. Broilers and hogs bring in the most income. North Carolina is a leading producer of turkeys. Also important are dairy products and cattle and calves. Livestock is raised in almost all parts of the state.

North Carolina is the nation's largest grower of tobacco, which is the state's single most valuable crop. It is grown in many parts of the state. Other valuable crops are cotton, soybeans, corn, and peanuts. Sweet potatoes and various fruits—including apples, peaches, and blueberries—are also grown. The coastal plain is the chief crop-growing region.

Crushed stone, mainly granite, is a leading mined product in North Carolina. Large amounts of feldspar, lithium, mica, and olivine are also mined in the state. Other minerals produced in significant quantities are phosphate rock and sand and gravel.

Many of the forests in North Carolina are of commercial value. Southern pines, such as loblolly, are the chief commercial trees but some hardwoods are also harvested.

North Carolina's fish catch is substantial. The most valuable catch is shellfish, primarily shrimp, crabs, and clams. Flounder are among the other fish caught commercially. Beaufort is the chief fishing port.

A great number of highways, including Interstate routes, cross the state. The Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive administered by the National Park Service, runs through the western mountains. Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Asheville are major hubs of the highway system. Main railway routes are on the coastal plain and generally run northeast to southwest. Part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway follows North Carolina's coast. Wilmington and Morehead City are deepwater ports. North Carolina has international airports at Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, and Greensboro.

The People

North Carolina is the 11th most populous state in the nation. The population density is 165.2 persons per square mile (63.8 per km2), 2.08 times that of the United States as a whole. Whites make up 72.1 per cent of the population and blacks, the largest nonwhite group, 21.6 per cent.

Education

The state school system is under the direction of a superintendent of public instruction, who is elected to a four-year term. The state board of education is appointed by the governer. Education is free and compulsory from age 7 to age 16.

The University of North Carolina, the second state university founded in the United States and the first to open for classes, was chartered in 1789. It opened at Chapel Hill in 1795. In 1971 the state-supported universities of North Carolina were consoldated into a single University of North Carolina system composed of 16 constituent institutions. They include:

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (formerly University of North Carolina), the oldest and largest component institution. It has schools of dentistry, education, journalism, law, library science, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and social work; a graduate school of business administration, and a college of arts and sciences.

North Carolina State University (formerly North Carolina State College), opened in 1889 at Raleigh. It has schools of agriculture and life sciences, design, education, engineering, forest resources, humanities and social sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, textiles, and veterinary medicine.

University of North Carolina at Greensboro (formerly Woman's College of the University of North Carolina), opened in 1892. It has programs in arts and sciences; education; business and economics; health physical education, recreation, and dance; human environmental sciences; music; and nursing.

Other component institutions are:

Appalachian State University, Boone

East Carolina University, Greenville

Elizabeth City State University

Fayetteville State University

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro

North Carolina Central University, Durham

North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem

Pembroke State University

University of North Carolina at Asheville

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Western Carolina University, Cullowhee

Winston-Salem State University

Duke University in Durham is the largest private institution of higher learning in the state.

Government

North Carolina is governed under its third constitution, adopted in 1970, effective in 1971.

Legislative powers are vested in the General Assembly. It consists of the Senate of 50 members and House of Representatives of 120, all elected for two-year terms. The General Assembly meets annually.

The elected officials are governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, attorney general, and commissioners of agriculture, labor, and insurance—all elected for four-year terms.

The judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of seven justices elected for eight-year terms. Other courts include a court of appeals, superior courts, and lower courts.

North Carolina is divided into 100 counties. It is represented in Congress by 2 senators and 13 representatives.