Piedmont Plateau

Piedmont Plateau, natural region, or physiographic province, of the eastern United States, extending from northeastern New Jersey south to central Alabama. Also called the Piedmont, it is sometimes considered part of the Appalachian Mountains system, but is more often regarded as a transitional zone between this region and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. More than 1,100 km (700 mi) in length, the Piedmont varies in width from about 80 km (about 50 mi) in New Jersey to more than 200 km (125 mi) in North Carolina. Covering an estimated 210,000 sq km (80,000 sq mi), the region is a rolling plain that slopes seaward from the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the fall line, which marks the approximate boundary between the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Elevations are relatively low, ranging from 90 to 550 m (about 300 to 1,800 ft). In some areas, hills or ridges rise above the general level of the plain.

The Piedmont is primarily an agricultural area. The northern Piedmont is a general farming area, noted in particular for its apple orchards and dairy farms. The central Piedmont, in southern Virginia and North Carolina, is one of the chief U.S. tobacco-growing regions. The southern Piedmont is an area where cotton has long been the chief cash crop. Much of the manufacturing activity in the Piedmont is based on the region's agricultural output, as well as on its timber resources and ample supplies of power. The principal manufacturing centers within the Piedmont include the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Durham; the South Carolina cities of Greenville and Spartanburg; and Atlanta, the largest city in Georgia and in the entire Piedmont.