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The State of North Carolina
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Flag Of North Carolina
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Tar Heel State Old North State<br> The Rip Van Winkle State
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Esse Quam Videri
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Raleigh
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Charlotte
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Mike Easley (D)
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Elizabeth Dole (R)<br/> Richard Burr (R)
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NC
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53,865
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November 21 , 1789
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US-NC
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(/) is a
State located on the
Atlantic Seaboard in the
Southeastern Region of the
United States Of America . It was one of the original
Thirteen Colonies , originally known as
Carolina , and the home of the
First English Colony in the
Americas . On
20 May ,
1861 , it became the last of the
Confederate States to secede from the
Union , and was readmitted on
4 July ,
1868 . It was also the location of the first successful powered heavier-than-air flight by the
Wright Brothers at
Kill Devil Hills near
Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of
1 July ,
2006 , the population estimate is 8,856,505
3 - a 10% increase since
1 April ,
2000 .
Due to its wide range of elevation, from sea level on the coast to almost 6,700 feet (2,042 m) in the mountains, North Carolina has the most variation in climate of all the mid-atlantic states. The climate in the coastal and
Piedmont regions of eastern and central North Carolina is similar to other southern states such as
Georgia and
South Carolina , while the climate in the western mountains is closer to that found in
New England or the
Upper Midwest . While the coastal plains, especially the tidewater areas, are strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, the western, mountainous part of the state is more than from the coast, resulting in considerably less maritime influence. As such, the climate of the state ranges from a warm,
Humid Subtropical Climate near the coast to a
Humid Continental Climate in the mountains. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone.
See Also: Geography of the United States
East Coast of the United States
Geography of North Carolina
List of counties in North Carolina
in the foreground with
Grandfather Mountain in the extreme background as seen from
Blowing Rock, NC .]]
Mountains as seen from Sunset Rock in
Highlands, North Carolina .]]
, one of the
Outer Banks attractions.]]
North Carolina is bordered by
South Carolina on the south,
Georgia on the southwest,
Tennessee on the west,
Virginia on the north, and the
Atlantic Ocean on the east. The
United States Census Bureau classifies North Carolina as a
Southern state in the subcategory of being one of the
South Atlantic States .
North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the
Coastal Plain , which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the
Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the
Appalachian Mountains and
Foothills , which take up the remaining 20% of the state in the west. The coastal plain begins in the east as a chain of narrow, sandy barrier islands known as the
Outer Banks . The Outer Banks form two sounds—
Albemarle Sound in the north and
Pamlico Sound in the south; they are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States. Immediately inland, the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils ideal for growing
Tobacco ,
Soybeans , and
Cotton . The coastal plain is North Carolina's most
Rural section, with few large towns or cities, and
Agriculture remains an important industry. The major rivers of this section, the
Neuse River ,
Tar River ,
Pamlico River ,
Cape Fear River , and
Roanoke River , tend to be slow-moving and wide.
The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the "
Fall Line ", a line which marks the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most urbanized and densely-populated section - all five of the state's largest cities are located in the Piedmont. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. A number of small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the
Sauratown Mountains ,
Pilot Mountain , the
Uwharrie Mountains ,
Crowder's Mountain ,
King's Pinnacle , the
Brushy Mountains , and the
South Mountains . The Piedmont ranges from about 300–400
Feet (90–120
M ) elevation in the east to over 1,000 feet (300 m) in the west. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the
Yadkin and
Catawba , tend to be fast-flowing, shallow, and narrow.
The
Western Section of the state is part of the
Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the
Great Smoky Mountains ,
Blue Ridge Mountains ,
Great Balsam Mountains ,
Pisgah Mountains, and the
Black Mountains . The Black Mountains are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States, and culminate in
Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m). It is the highest point east of the
Mississippi River . Although agriculture remains important,
Tourism has become the dominant industry in the mountains. Due to the higher altitude in the mountains, the climate often differs starkly from the rest of the state. Winters in western North Carolina typically feature significant snowfall and subfreezing temperatures more akin to a northern state than a southern one.
North Carolina has 17 major river basins; five of the state's river basins - the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Watauga and New - are part of the
Mississippi River Basin, which drains to the
Gulf Of Mexico . All the others flow to the
Atlantic Ocean . Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's borders - the Cape Fear, Neuse, White Oak and Tar-Pamlico.
4
The three geographical divisions of North Carolina are useful when discussing the
Climate of the state.
The coastal plain is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which keeps temperatures mild in the winter and moderate in the summer. Daytime high temperatures on the coast average less than 89 °F (31.6 °C) during the summer. In the winter, the coast has the mildest temperatures in the state, with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 40 °F (4.4 °C). The coastal plain usually receives only one inch (2.5 cm) of
Snow and/or ice annually, and in some years there may be no snow or ice at all. The Atlantic Ocean has less influence on the Piedmont region, and as a result the Piedmont has hotter summers and colder winters than the coast. Daytime highs in the Piedmont usually average over 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer. While it is not common for temperatures to reach over 100 °F (37.8 °C) in North Carolina, when it happens, the highest temperatures are to be found in the lower areas of the Piedmont, especially around the city of
Fayetteville .
In the winter, the Piedmont is much less mild than the coast, with daytime temperatures that usually reach in the mid to upper 50's, while low to mid 60's are common winter highs around the coast. The region averages anywhere from 3-5 inches of snowfall annually in the Charlotte area to 6-8 inches in the Raleigh-Durham area. The Piedmont is especially notorious for
Sleet and
Freezing Rain , which can be heavy enough in some storms to snarl traffic and collapse trees and power lines. Annual precipitation and humidity is lower in the Piedmont than either the mountains or the coast, but even at its lowest, the precipitation is a generous 40 in (102 cm) per year. The
Appalachian Mountains are the coolest area of the state, with daytime temperatures averaging in the 40's for highs in the winter and often falling into the teens (−9 °C) or lower in winter nights, and relatively cool summers rarely rising above 80 °F (26.7 °C). Snowfall in the mountains is usually 14–20 in (36–51 cm) per year, but is often greater in the higher elevations. For example, during the
Blizzard Of 1993 over 50 inches of snow fell on
Mount Mitchell .
Severe weather is not a rare event in North Carolina. On average, the state receives a direct hit from a hurricane once a decade, and a tropical storm every 3 or 4 years, although in some years several hurricanes or tropical storms can either directly hit the state, or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often. On average, North Carolina has 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year, with some storms becoming severe enough to produce hail and damaging winds. Although many people believe that hurricanes only menace coastal areas, the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough can cause severe damage far inland. In 1989
Hurricane Hugo caused heavy damage in
Charlotte and even as far inland as the
Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern part of the state. North Carolina averages less than 20 tornadoes per year, and many of these are produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Nonetheless, tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina.
5
See Also: History of North Carolina
and his son]]
See Also: Native Americans in the United States
Roanoke Island
North Carolina was originally inhabited by many different native peoples, including the
Cherokee ,
Tuscarora ,
Cheraw ,
Pamlico ,
Meherrin ,
Coree ,
Machapunga ,
Cape Fear Indians ,
Waxhaw ,
Saponi ,
Tutelo ,
Waccamaw ,
Lumbee ,
Coharie , and
Catawba . North Carolina was the second American territory the
British attempted to colonize.
Sir Walter Raleigh , for whom the state capital is named, chartered two colonies on the North Carolina (then
Virginia ) coast in the late 1580s, both ending in failure. The demise of one, the "
Lost Colony " of
Roanoke Island , remains one of the great mysteries of American history.
Virginia Dare , the first English child to be born in North America, was born in North Carolina.
Dare County is named for her.
See Also: American Revolutionary War
The first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later.Lefler and Newsome, (1973) There was some difference in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, which would affect the political, economic, and social life of the state from the eighteenth until the twentieth century. Eastern North Carolina was settled largely by immigrants from
England and the
Highland Scots . Western North Carolina was settled largely by
Scots-Irish and
German Protestants , the so-called "
Cohee ". During the
Revolutionary War the English and Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, while the Scots-Irish and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain.
On
April 12 1776 , the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the
Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British crown, through the
Halifax Resolves passed by the
North Carolina Provincial Congress . The dates of both of these independence-related events are memorialized on the
State Flag and
State Seal .
6 North Carolina often witnessed fierce
Guerilla Warfare between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists throughout the Revolutionary War. A major American victory in the war took place at
King's Pinnacle along the North Carolina-South Carolina border. On October 7, 1780 a force of 1000 mountain men from western North Carolina (including what is today the State of
Tennessee ) overwhelmed a force of some 1000 British troops led by Major
Patrick Ferguson . Most of the British soldiers in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the British Crown (they were called "Tories"). The American victory at Kings Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence over the Tory colonists, and prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories. The road to
Yorktown and America's independence from England led through North Carolina. As the
British Army moved north from victories in
Charleston and
Camden ,
South Carolina , the Southern Division of the
Continental Army and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General
Daniel Morgan 's victory over the British Cavalry Commander
Banastre Tarleton at the
Battle Of Cowpens on
January 17 ,
1781 , southern commander
Nathanael Greene led British Lord
Charles Cornwallis across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from Cornwallis's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River."Lefler and Newsome, (1973)
Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the
Battle Of Guilford Courthouse in present-day
Greensboro on
March 15 ,
1781 . Although the
British troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior American Army were crippling. Following this "
Pyhrric Victory ", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the
British Navy to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis's eventual defeat at
Yorktown, Virginia later in 1781, a victory which guaranteed American independence.
On with the state capital of
Raleigh . In 1849 the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to
Greensboro ,
High Point , and
Charlotte . During the Civil War the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of
Richmond, Virginia . During the antebellum period North Carolina was an overwhelmingly
Rural state, even by Southern standards. In 1860 only one North Carolina town, the port city of
Wilmington , had a population of more than 10,000.
Raleigh , the state capital, had barely more than 5,000 residents.
See Also: American Civil War
In 1860, North Carolina was a
Slave State with a relatively small slave population (compared to other Southern states). However, it refused to join the
Confederacy until President
Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister-state,
South Carolina . The state was the site of few battles, but it provided at least 125,000 troops to the Confederacy— more than any other state. Approximately 40,000 of those troops never returned home, dead of battlefield wounds, disease, and privation. Governor
Zebulon Baird Vance , elected in 1862, tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President
Jefferson Davis in
Richmond . Even after secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy; this was particularly true of
Cohee non-slave-owning farmers in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region. Some of these farmers remained neutral during the
War , while others covertly supported the
Union cause during the conflict. Even so, Confederate troops from North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the
Army Of Northern Virginia , the Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at
Bentonville , which was a futile attempt by Confederate General
Joseph Johnston to slow Union General
William Tecumseh Sherman 's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.Lefler and Newsome, (1973) In April 1865 Johnston surrendered to Sherman at
Bennett Place , in what is today
Durham, North Carolina . This was the last major Confederate Army to surrender. North Carolina's port city of
Wilmington was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union, it fell in the spring of 1865 after the nearby
Second Battle Of Fort Fisher .
The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt, a North Carolinian. He was killed in the
Battle Of Big Bethel in June 1861. At the
Battle Of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in
Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge and advanced the farthest into the Northern lines of any Confederate regiment. At
Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate
Army Of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. For many years, North Carolinians proudly boasted that they had been "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg, and Last at Appomattox."
See Also: Demographics of the United States
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North Carolina has 3
Metropolitan Combined Statistical Areas with a population over 1 million:
- : ''Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC'' - population 2,191,604
- : ''Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC''- population of 1,565,223
- : ''Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point, NC'' - population of 1,513,576
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau , as of 2006, North Carolina has an estimated population of 8,856,505, which is an increase of 184,046, or 2.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 810,014, or 10.0%, since the year 2000. This exceeds the rate of growth for the United States as a whole. The growth comprises a natural increase since the last census of 293,761 people (that is 749,959 births minus 456,198 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 527,991 people into the state.
Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 180,986 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 347,005 people. Between 2005 and 2006, North Carolina passed
New Jersey to become the 10th most populous state.
Table 1: Estimates of Population Change for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico and State Rankings: July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2006 . United States Census Bureau. December 22, 2006. Last accessed December 22, 2006.
North Carolina has historically been a rural state, with most of the population living on farms and in small towns. However, over the last 30 years the state has undergone rapid , and
Southeast Asia .
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The
Center Of Population of North Carolina is located in
Randolph County , in the town of
Seagrove .
7
6.7% of North Carolina's population were reported as under 5 years old, 24.4% under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.
The largest
Ancestry Groups in North Carolina are:
{Link without Title}
African American s make up a fifth (some state political groups claimed a quarter) of North Carolina's population and the state experienced a growth of middle-class blacks since the 1970s. African Americans are concentrated in the state's eastern Coastal Plain and in parts of the Piedmont Plateau where plantation agriculture was most dominant. Until the mid 1860s, North Carolina had more small farms and fewer plantations than adjacent South Carolina and Virginia. These "
Yeoman " farmers were non-slave-holding, private land owners of tracts of approximately 500 acres (2 km&
2) or less. African-American communities number by the hundreds in rural counties in the south-central and northeast, and in predominantly black neighborhoods in the cities: Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. By contrast, relatively few blacks live in the state's mountains and rural areas of the western Piedmont, and in some mountain counties the black population has historically numbered in the few dozens at most.
North Carolina harbored the famous
Greensboro Sit-ins of 1960, an important event to the
Civil Rights Movement .
North Carolinians of
Scots-Irish ,
Scottish and
English ancestry are concentrated in the western mountains, coastal areas, and rural areas of the central Piedmont. In the
Winston-Salem area, there is a substantial population of
German ancestry from the migration of members of the
Moravian faith during the mid-18th century. The coastal region attracted a history of European immigration, like Swiss-Germans who settled
New Bern in the late 18th century.
Estimated population figures for
Native American in North Carolina as of 2004 is 110,198. Only five states (
California ,
Arizona ,
Oklahoma ,
New Mexico , and
Texas ) have a larger Native American population than North Carolina.
8 The total Native American and Alaska Native population in the
United States is 2,824,751, or 0.95% of the total.
To date, North Carolina recognizes eight Native American tribal nations within its state borders:
- The Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians were federally recognized in 1868 and received state recognition in 1889. The Eastern Cherokee live in eastern Swain County , as well as Graham and Jackson counties, and have roughly 13,400 enrolled members, most of whom live on a reservation properly called the Qualla Boundary . The Reservation is slightly more than 56,000 acres (230 km&2), and is held in trust by the federal government specifically for the Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians .
- The Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of Native Americans received state recognition in 1965. The tribe is comprised of a little more than 3,800 enrolled members who reside in northeastern North Carolina's Halifax and Warren counties.
- The almost 2,000 members of the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe are located in the mid-atlantic North Carolina counties of Bladen , and Columbus and received state recognition in 1971.
- The Coharie Tribe of Native Americans are located in Sampson and Harnett counties, and have a population of 1,781 enrolled members. The Coharie received state recognition in 1911. North Carolina rescinded recognition in 1913 but reinstated it in 1971.
- The Sappony Indians of Person County received state recognition in 1911 and have 850 enrolled members.
- The Occaneechi Band Of The Saponi Nation have a population of 800 members who reside in Orange and Alamance counties and received state recognition in 2002.
- The Meherrin are an Iroquoian -descent Native American tribe located primarily in rural northeastern Hertford , Bertie , and Gates counties, with a population of 557 enrolled members.
Since 1990 the state has seen a boom in the number of
Hispanics /Latinos. Once chiefly employed as migrant labor, the increase in Hispanics since 1990 can be attributed in part to the ease of access to low skilled jobs that are the first step on the economic ladder. As a result growing numbers of Hispanics are settling in the state, mainly from
Mexico ,
Central America , and the
Dominican Republic . Hispanic neighborhoods are found in the cities and there are sizable populations of
Cuban Americans and
Puerto Ricans in North Carolina. In 2005, the
Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 300,000 — roughly 65 percent of North Carolina’s Latino population — are
Illegal Immigrants , based on the Census Bureau’s population estimates.
9 The population has grown from 76,726 in 1990 to 517,617 in 2005, an average increase of 13.5% per year.
The state has one of the most rapid growing
Asian American , specifically
Indian and
Vietnamese , populations in the country; the populations nearly quintupled and tripled, respectively, between 1990 and 2002. The earliest record of Asian immigration in North Carolina goes back to the mid 1800s when the first
Chinese American s were hired as agricultural workers. The famous Chinese-American Siamese twins -
Eng And Chang Bunker - settled in
Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1839.
Japanese American s,
Filipino American s, and
Koreans arrived in the early and mid 20th century. Recent estimates suggest that the state's Asian American population has increased significantly since 2000. The
Hmong population in North Carolina has grown by 12,000 since the 1980s.See a report on immigration by The Center for New North Carolinians of the
University Of North Carolina, Greensboro , entitled
Ethnic Groups in North Carolina . Retrieved July 29, 2007.
North Carolina, like other
Southern states, has traditionally been overwhelmingly
Protestant , with the largest Protestant denomination being the
Southern Baptists . However, the rapid influx of
Northerners and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing the number of
Roman Catholics and
Jews in the state, and the numerical dominance of the Baptist Church is beginning to decline. This is especially evident in the urban areas of the state, where the population is more culturally diverse and the bulk of the growth has occurred. However, in many rural counties the Southern Baptists remain the dominant Christian church. The second-largest Protestant church in North Carolina are the
Methodists , who are strong in the upper Piedmont, and especially in populous
Guilford County . The
Presbyterians have historically had a strong presence in
Charlotte , the state's largest city. The current religious affiliations of the people of North Carolina are shown below:
See Also: Economy of the United States
Economic history of the United States
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state's 2004 total gross state product was $336 billion.
10 Its 2005 per capita personal income was $31,029, 36
th in the nation.
11 North Carolina's agricultural outputs include ,
Raleigh ,
Cary , and others have experienced rapid population and economic growth over the last thirty years, many of the state's small towns have suffered from job and population loss. Most of North Carolina's small towns historically developed around textile and furniture factories; as these factories have closed and moved to low-wage markets in Asia and Latin America the small towns that depended upon them have suffered.
Over the past century, North Carolina has grown to become a national leader in , one of North Carolina's earliest sources of revenue, remains vital to the local economy, although concerns about whether the federal government will continue to support subsidies for tobacco farmers has led some growers to switch to other crops like
Wine or leave farming altogether. North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco in the country.
12
growing skyline]]
The
Information and
Biotechnology industries have been steadily on the rise since the creation of the
Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the 1950s. Located between
Raleigh and
Durham (mostly in Durham County), its proximity to local research universities has no doubt helped to fuel growth. Meanwhile, beginning in the 1980s,
Charlotte's banking industry began a period of rapid growth, creating what is now the second largest banking center in the
United States (after
New York ). Charlotte is home to Wachovia and Bank of America and the metro is home to 5 other Fortune 500 companies. The
North Carolina Research Campus underway in
Kannapolis promises to enrich and bolster North Carolina the way the RTP changed the Raleigh-Durham region.
13 Encompassing 5.8 million square feet, the complex is a collaborative project involving
Duke University ,
University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill , and
N.C. State University , along with private and corporate investors and developers. The facility incorporates corporate, academic, commercial and residential space, oriented toward
Research And Development (R&D) and biotechnology. Similarly, in downtown
Winston-Salem , the
Piedmont Triad Research Park is undergoing an expansion. Approximately thirty miles to the east of Winston Salem's research park,
The University Of North Carolina At Greensboro and
North Carolina A&T State University have joined forces to create the
Gateway University Research Park , a technology-based research entity which will focus its efforts on areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology & biochemistry, environmental sciences, and genetics among other science-based disciplines.
North Carolina is the third largest film production state behind '', and ''
28 Days .'' The television show most associated with North Carolina is
The Andy Griffith Show , which aired on
CBS-TV from 1960 to 1968. The series is set in the fictional small town of
Mayberry , North Carolina, and was based on the real-life town of
Mount Airy, North Carolina , although it was filmed in
California . Mount Airy is the hometown of actor
Andy Griffith . The show is still popular in
Reruns and is frequently shown in
Syndication around the nation.
See Also: Taxation in the United States
State tax levels
North Carolina personal (18th),
Georgia (19th),
South Carolina (26th) and
Virginia (13th).
See Also: List of airports in North Carolina
]]
Several cities are served by ,
Greensboro , and
High Point . There is also an intercity rail network extending across the state.
See Also: North Carolina Highway System
The North Carolina Highway System is comprised of a vast network of
Interstate Highway s,
U.S. Route s, and
State Route s. North Carolina has the second largest state-maintained highway network in the United States.
16 Major highways include:
