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North Carolina Geography
North Carolina
State Motto: Esse Quam Videri (To Be
Rather Than to Seem)
 State Song: The Old North State
 State Bird: Cardinal
 State Flower: Flowering Dogwood
 State Tree: Longleaf Pine
 State Beverage: Milk

State Seal
North Carolina Flag

May 20, 1775: Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence (North Carolina citizens met
to declare their freedom from Great
Britain)
North Carolina Flag

April 12, 1776: Halifax Resolves adoption
(first official action by a colony calling for
independence from Britain)
North Carolina
Coastal Plain
Makes up 45% of the state’s area.
 Separated from the Piedmont by the Fall
Line
 Easternmost part is poorly drained in
places such as the Great Dismal Swamp.
 Region is divided into two sections : The
Tidewater and the Inner Coastal Plain.

Coastal Plain
Tidewater extends from 30 to 80 miles
inland. Marshes, swamps and lakes cover
wide areas.
 Irregular shoreline has numerous bays
and sounds that penetrate westward
 Low narrow sandbars, called barrier
islands, enclose lagoons or sounds
providing long stretches of beaches.

Coastal Plain
Outermost barrier islands are called the
Outer Banks
 Sandhills are an area of ancient beach
sand dunes with heights up to 600 feet
above sea level.
 Coastal Plain is the site of most of the
state’s military bases.

Jockey’s Ridge


Highest sand dune on
the Atlantic Coast
Located on North
Carolina’s Outer
Banks
Coastal Plains

North Carolina has
two ports
 Morehead
City
 Wilmington

Wilmington is the only
natural port in North
Carolina
The Coastal Plain Continued:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Major Cities in
The Inner C.P.
include:
Fayetteville
Greenville
Goldsboro
Wilson
Rocky Mount
Coastal Plain


There are two currents that meet off the coast of
North Carolina. They are the Labrador Current
and the Gulf Stream. This makes for excellent
fishing.
North Carolina’s coast has sandbars that project
out under the Atlantic Ocean creating dangerous
shoals such as Diamond Shoals creating the
“Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
Capes of North Carolina

Three major capes
 Cape
Hatteras
 Cape Lookout
 Cape Fear

Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse is the
tallest brick
lighthouse.
Coastal Plain

There are seven sounds in North Carolina
 Albemarle
 Pamlico
 Currituck
 Bogue
 Core
 Croatan
 Roanoke
Coastal Plain

Largest state
universities in the
Tidewater region are
Elizabeth City State
University and the
University of North
Carolina at
Wilmington.
Coastal Plain

Three state universities
are located in Coastal
Plain




Fayetteville State
East Carolina
UNC – Pembroke
Pembroke was founded
to educate the Lumbee
Indians
Piedmont




Lies between the Coastal Plain and the
Mountain region.
Occupies about 45% of the state’s area
Has clay and clay loam soil
Serves as the center of the population
 Has
the state’s largest cities
 Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and
Durham
Piedmont
Serves as the manufacturing center of the
state
 Hydroelectric power has led to the
development of the three major industries

 Textiles
 Tobacco
 Furniture
Piedmont

Serves as the center
of the state’s higher
education.
 UNC,
NC State, Duke,
NC A&T, UNC-G,
UNC-C, Wake Forest
and Davidson
Piedmont

Piedmont is also the
home to the North
Carolina School of
Science and
Mathematics.
Piedmont

Serves as the center of the state’s cultural
activities.
 State
museums of art, history and natural
science
 Mint museum in Charlotte
 Symphonies and theatres
 State zoo
 Important historic sites.
Mountains
North Carolina’s mountains are part of the
Appalachian Mountain Chain.
 Appalachian Mountains were named by
European explorer Hernando de Soto.
 In 1540, de Soto became the first
European to explore this region

Mountains
North Carolina’s mountains cover about
9,000 square miles or about 10% of the
state.
 Small farming is found in the mountain
region such as burley tobacco, corn,
soybeans, wheat, vegetables, apples and
Christmas trees.

Grandfather Mountain



Highest peak in the
Blue Ridge Range
Some formations are
believed to be 1.5
billion years old.
The mountain in its
present state is
believed to be 620
million years old.
The Mountain Region of NC

The Biltmore Estate (built during the
1890’s) was a summer home for the
Wealthy Vanderbilt family of New York.

It is still privately owned and the large
Castle-like estate is the most visited site in
NC. (Tryon Palace comes in at Number 2.)
Biltmore Estate
Mountains


Asheville is the only
city in the mountain
region.
Tourism is a large
industry in the
mountain region.
Mountains


Eastern band of the
Cherokee live in the
mountain region on
Qualla Boundary.
They demonstrate the
traditional tribal ways
at the Oconoluftee
Village
Mountains



Highest peak in the
eastern United States
is Mount Mitchell.
Located in Yancey
County
Stands 6,684 feet tall
Mountains

Largest state
universities in
Western North
Carolina are
Appalachian State in
Boone and Western
Carolina in
Cullowhee.
How Geography affected
Development
The fertile soil and subtropical climate with
its abundant rainfall and mild temperature
have resulted in a wide variety of crops
and trees in the state.
 Because North Carolina had few good
ports, settlement spread out evenly across
the state.
 The lack of ports also meant that North
Carolina was poorer than its neighbors.

How Geography affected
Development
Fewer African slaves were imported into
North Carolina than neighboring colonies.
This meant that plantations in North
Carolina tended to be smaller and planters
had less money.
 There was no large aristocracy or
privileged upper class and leadership of
the colony fell to the “middling sort.”

How Geography affected
Development
North Carolina rivers served as highways
for the state but did not unite the regions.
 Each of the sections of the state tried to
advance its own interests.
 Sectionalism, an exaggerated allegiance
to the interests of one’s own region,
developed.
 Politicians become more loyal to their
regions than to the state.

A little Geography lesson
Longitude: A measurement east or west
of the Prime Meridian (These lines run
North and South)
 Prime Meridian: Zero degrees Longitude
(Divides the earth into Eastern and
Western Hemisphere)

A little Geography lesson
Latitude: A measurement North and
South of the Equator. (These lines run
East to West)
 The Equator: Zero degrees latitude.
An imaginary line that divides the earth
into the Northern and Southern
Hemisphere.

Questions
How does North Carolina’s coastal
geography affect the settlement of the
colony?
 What do you think would have happened
in settlement patterns if there were better
ports in North Carolina?
