North Carolina

I

Introduction

North Carolina, state in the southeastern United States. It is bounded by Virginia on the north, Tennessee on the west, and South Carolina and Georgia on the south. The Atlantic Ocean forms its long irregular eastern boundary. Long an important agricultural state, North Carolina is the nation’s leading producer of tobacco. Since the 1920s, however, it has also been a major source of manufactured goods, especially tobacco products, chemicals, textiles, and furniture. Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina. Charlotte is the largest city and the center of the state’s most populous metropolitan region.

The site of an early attempted English settlement in the 1580s, North Carolina has played a significant role throughout U.S. history. North Carolinians were leaders in the American Revolution (1775-1783) and, through the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, contributed significantly to the ultimate American victory. North Carolina joined the Union on November 21, 1789, as the 12th of the original 13 states. Although hesitant to join the Union in 1789, they were equally reluctant to leave it during the American Civil War (1861-1865). However, once they joined the Confederacy, they gave wholeheartedly of North Carolina’s men and wealth. The state has been a pacesetter in internal improvements and public education. From a high sand dune called Kill Devil Hill, located near Kitty Hawk on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first successful airplane flights in 1903.

North Carolina’s name is derived from the Latin word Carolinus, meaning “of Charles.” The state was named in honor of King Charles I and King Charles II of England by their friends and supporters who were establishing colonies in the southern part of the Virginia colony. The state is nicknamed the “Tar Heel State.” While time has obscured the source of the name, some historians believe it refers to one of the state’s major colonial-era products—tar—which was derived from slowly burning the stumps of longleaf pine trees. More commonly accepted is that the name came about during the Civil War. Some say the name may have originally been used derisively, applied to North Carolina soldiers who could not hold a position against Union troops because they had forgotten to “tar their heels” and thus could not stick to their ground. Others contend the name was applied to North Carolina troops by Confederate leaders as a tribute to their sticking quality during battle. The state, once the northern part of the original Carolina colony, is also referred to as the “Old North State.”

II

Physical Geography

North Carolina, 29th in size among the 50 states, has a total area of 139,391 sq km (53,819 sq mi), including 10,256 sq km (3,960 sq mi) of inland water. Its maximum dimensions are 809 km (503 mi) from east to west and 301 km (187 mi) from north to south. The state’s mean elevation is about 210 m (700 ft).

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A

Natural Regions

Largely on the basis of its topography and landforms North Carolina is often divided into three natural regions, or physiographic provinces: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge (or Mountain) province.

The Atlantic Coastal Plain makes up about 45 percent of the state (see Coastal Plain). It is a low, flat to gently sloping plain that tilts slightly seaward. Much of the region is less than 75 m (250 ft) above sea level. The western margin is marked by the Fall Line, in actuality a zone where the rivers descend over small waterfalls and rapids from the ancient, harder rock of the Piedmont to the more easily eroded sands, clays, and shales of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. At the Fall Line the land of the Coastal Plain rises in some places to elevations of 120 m (400 ft). The Coastal Plain is actually a series of broad, very flat terraces or steps, which are bounded on their western edges by abrupt rises in elevation that represent ancient beach ridges. The easternmost of these terraces are poorly drained in places, giving rise to large swampy areas or “pocosins,” an Algonquian word meaning “swamp on high ground.” The Great Dismal Swamp is one of these pocosins. Others are Holly Shelter Swamp and Green Swamp. The river valleys in the eastern Coastal Plain were flooded by a rise in sea level since the end of the last period of glaciation, creating the broad sounds and rivers, which are called estuaries.

Most of the Atlantic Coastal Plain has a sandy surface, and solid rock is very deep below many layers of sediments. Marsh grass and water-tolerant trees cover the wetter areas. Pine forests occupy the better-drained sandy sections.

The seaward part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, extending from 50 to 130 km (30 to 80 mi) inland, is usually referred to as the Tidewater. Marshes, swamps, and lakes cover wide areas. The irregular shoreline has numerous bays and sounds that penetrate westwardly into the Coastal Plain. Sand dunes are numerous near the shore in many places. Low narrow sandbars, called barrier islands, enclose quiet lagoons, or sounds, and provide long stretches of attractive beaches. The outermost barrier islands are called the Outer Banks, which enclose the large body of water known as Pamlico Sound. At three locations along the coast—Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear—the sandbars project far out under the Atlantic Ocean, creating dangerous shoals that are hazards to shipping. Just offshore from Cape Hatteras are the treacherous Diamond Shoals, site of hundreds of shipwrecks. This coast is nicknamed the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” North Carolina’s coastline measures 484 km (301 mi). The tidal shoreline, which includes islands, bays, and river mouths, stretches for 5,432 km (3,375 mi).

The inner portion of the Atlantic Coastal Plain is somewhat higher in elevation and much better drained than the outer Coastal Plain. The gently rolling surface and light sandy soils have helped mold it into a leading agricultural region. In its southwestern part, near the South Carolina border, is found the Sandhills, a hilly area of ancient beach sand dunes with heights up to 180 m (600 ft) above sea level. This area is known for its peach orchards and for its winter golf resort areas.

North Carolina’s Piedmont is about the same size as the Atlantic Coastal Plain, comprising about 45 percent of the state’s area (see Piedmont Plateau). Lying between the Coastal Plain and the Appalachian Mountains, this rolling to hilly transitional region ranges from 150 m (500 ft) above sea level in places on its eastern border to as much as 460 m (1,500 ft) in the west.

The mountain region of North Carolina occupies about 10 percent of the state. It is part of the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountain province, which extends from New England in the north to Alabama in the south. In the southern part of the Appalachian system, the easternmost mountain ridge is called the Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge province attains its greatest width, height, and ruggedness in the area along the North Carolina-Tennessee border. In places the boundary between these two states follows the crest of the mountain ridges. The region is divided into a number of smaller mountain ranges. The easternmost range is specifically called the Blue Ridge, while along the western margin lie several ranges, including the Unaka Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. Several ranges, such as the Black Mountains and the Plott Balsam Mountains, connect the easternmost and westernmost ranges, enclosing lower-lying basins and valleys. The Asheville Basin, in the French Broad Valley, is the most significant.

The general elevation within the mountains varies from 600 to 1,200 m (2,000 to 4,000 ft), with valleys considerably lower. Many peaks are considerably higher; 50 exceed 6,000 ft (equivalent to 1,829 m). Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains, 2,037 m (6,684 ft) high, is the highest point not only in the state but also in the entire eastern United States east of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

B

Rivers and Lakes

The drainage divide in North Carolina follows the Blue Ridge range on the eastern margin of the mountain region. This is called the “Eastern Continental Divide.” West of this divide, rivers drain into the Mississippi River through the Tennessee River and other tributaries of the Ohio River. The French Broad, the largest, and the Little Tennessee flow into the Tennessee River. The New River flows into the Kanawha River of West Virginia which in turn flows into the Ohio River.

Most of the state’s rivers flow southeastward across the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. In the mountains and in the Piedmont they are relatively swift-flowing streams. In places the rivers have cut valleys 60 m (200 ft) or more below the upland surface. Major rivers and their tributaries provide good drainage, and excellent sites to use the rivers to generate electricity are numerous. Most rivers have developed falls or rapids where they cross the Fall Line from the Piedmont into the Atlantic Coastal Plain and become sluggish as they wend their way across the flatter Coastal Plain. Floodplains are wide and river swamps are common.

The Cape Fear River, one of the principal rivers in the state, begins in the Piedmont and flows southeastward as a stream laden with yellow muds and silts until it converges with a large backwater tributary known as the Northeast Cape Fear River. From the junction point of these two rivers at Wilmington, a broad estuary is formed that flows south to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at Smith Island just west of Cape Fear. The Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers flow into different arms of the Pamlico Sound. The Roanoke, Chowan, Perquimans, and Pasquotank rivers enter Albemarle Sound. The New River (which is a different river from the New River in the Blue Ridge province) empties into Onslow Bay. The Yadkin-Pee Dee, Catawba, Broad, and Waccamaw rivers originate in North Carolina and reach the ocean through South Carolina.

North Carolina’s few large natural lakes are in the outer Coastal Plain. Lake Mattamuskeet, near Pamlico Sound, is the largest. Lake Phelps, nearby, is second in size. Lake Waccamaw, near the South Carolina border, is the state’s third largest lake. Of the numerous swamps, the Great Dismal Swamp, astride the North Carolina-Virginia border, is the best known.

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