Geography of North Carolina
Encyclopedia
The Geography of North Carolina falls naturally into three divisions or sections—the Appalachian Mountains
formed mostly by the Blue Ridge
and Great Smoky Mountains
, the Middle or Piedmont
Plateau, and the Eastern or Tidewater section, also known as the Coastal Plain
. North Carolina covers 53821 square miles (139,396 km²) and is 560 miles (901.2 km) long by 150 miles (241.4 km) wide. The physical characteristics of the state can be pictured as a surface spread out upon a vast declivity, sloping down from the summits of the Smoky Mountains, an altitude of near seven thousand feet, to the ocean level.
The mountains of North Carolina may be conveniently classed as four separate chains:
Each of these mountain ranges is marked by distinct characteristics. The Smoky Mountain chain (as contrasted with the Blue Ridge) is more continuous, more elevated, more regular in its direction and height, and rises very uniformly from 5000 to 6621 feet (2,018.1 m).
The Blue Ridge is composed of many fragments scarcely connected into a continuous and regular chain. Its higher summits range from 5000 to nearly 6700 feet (2,042.2 m); however, its average elevation is from 3000 to 4000 feet (1,219.2 m). The eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge rise sharply from 1500 to 4500 feet (1,371.6 m) above the terrain to the east; to observers they often appear as a vast, lofty wall running across the state's western horizon.
The Brushy Mountain range presents, throughout the greater part of its course, a remarkable uniformity in direction and elevation, many of its peaks rising above 2000 feet (609.6 m), and a few rising above 2500 feet (762 m).
The last, the Uwharrie range, sometimes presents a succession of elevated ridges, then a number of bold and isolated knobs, which often appear higher than they actually are, due to the relative flatness of the surrounding terrain.
The mountain section consists of the tallest peaks east of the Rocky Mountains
. The tallest of the Appalachian Mountains is Mount Mitchell. Mount Mitchell is also the tallest point east of the Mississippi River
.
The section enclosed within these limits is in shape somewhat like an ellipse
. Its length is about one hundred and eighty miles; its average breadth from twenty to fifty miles. It is a high plateau
, from the plane of which several high mountains rise, including the Roan
, the Grandfather, and the Black. Between the mountains are scenic fertile valley
s, plentifully watered by stream
s.
The mountains lie within the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
ecoregion
and are heavily forested. They often feature thick underbrush, except a few which have prairies on their summits, called balds
.
ecoregion and has many forests. The Piedmont borders the Coastal Plain at the Fall Line
. An important resource throughout the Piedmont is tobacco
.
The Coastal Plain is the largest geographic area of the state, and covers roughly 45% of North Carolina. The Coastal Plain begins along the fall line
, a line of hills which stretch from the Sandhills
region along the South Carolina border, through Fayetteville
, then Raleigh
, and finally through Henderson, North Carolina
near the Virginia border. The fall line marks where the Piedmont plateau drops down to the coastal plain; it also marks where waterfalls begin to appear on streams and rivers in the state. The hills of the fall line drop 150–350 feet in an eastward direction; while noticeable, the drop is quite gradual and occurs over a width of 1–3 miles. East of the fall line the coastal plain is relatively flat, with sandy soils ideal for growing tobacco, cotton, soybeans, and melons. The natural lands are those of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests
ecoregion. The rivers of the coastal plain are much wider and deeper than those of the Piedmont or mountains, and flow more slowly. The coastal plain encompasses the two largest landlocked sounds
in the United States; Albemarle Sound
in the north and Pamlico Sound
in the south. Pamlico Sound is larger than the State of Connecticut
. The coastal plain is covered by thick forests of pines and other evergreens; due to the sandy soils it is difficult for many deciduous
trees to grow. The easternmost portion of the state contains the Outer Banks
, sandy islands that do not have coral reef
s to attach to and thus are constantly shifting their locations. The Outer Banks are known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because numerous ships have been wrecked along their beaches and shoals due to storms and strong tides. The Coastal Plain is host to three capes
: Cape Hatteras
, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear. Despite the fact that North Carolina has hundreds of miles of beachfront territory, due to the Outer Banks and swampland along the coast the state lacks a good natural harbor. As such North Carolina never developed a major port city as did neighboring states such as Georgia (Savannah), South Carolina (Charleston), and Virginia (Norfolk). Wilmington, located 15 miles (24 km) up the Cape Fear River
, and Morehead city located on the other side of the bridge from Atlantic beach crossing the Bogue Sound remain the state's only two major ports; the Cape Fear river often has to be dredged to keep it open to large merchant ships.
, oat
s, barley
, hay
, tobacco
, fruits and vegetables. Cattle
are also reared quite extensively for market, and large numbers of chickens are raised for market in the northwestern mountains and foothills. A prominent new industry in the mountains is the raising and selling of Christmas Trees. In the Piedmont region of central North Carolina are found all the products of the mountains, although over the southern half cotton
appears as the staple product. In the deep, loamy soils of the coastal region, cotton, corn, and oats are the staple crops, and truck farming (growing fruits and vegetables for northern markets), constitutes a flourishing industry. Formerly longleaf pine
forests produced tar, pitch and turpentine, and more recently lumber. Little old growth longleaf area is left; much has been replanted in loblolly pine
, which is used for paper pulp, plywood
, and lumber
. Four of the grape varieties of America are native to North Carolina; the Catawba
, Isabella
, Lincoln, and Scuppernong
.
through the Mississippi
, those that flow through South Carolina
to the sea and those that reach the sea along the North Carolina coast. The divide between the first and the second is the Blue Ridge chain of mountains; that between the second and third systems is found in an elevation extending from the Blue Ridge, near the Virginia
line, just between the sources of the Yadkin River
and the Roanoke River
, in a south-easterly direction some two hundred miles, almost to the seacoast below Wilmington
. In the divide between the first and second systems, which is also the great watershed between the Atlantic slope and the Mississippi Valley, a singular anomaly is presented, for it is formed not by the lofty Smoky range, but by the Blue Ridge—not, therefore, at the crest of the great slope which the surface of the state presents, but on a line lower down. On the western flank of this lower range the French Broad
and the other rivers of the first section, including the headwaters of the Great Kanawha
, have their rise. In their course through the Smoky Mountains to the Mississippi they pass along chasms or "gaps" from three thousand to four thousand feet in depth. These chasms or "gaps" are more than a thousand feet lower than those of the corresponding parts of the Blue Ridge.
The rivers of the second system rise on the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge. These rivers—the Catawba and the Yadkin, with their tributaries stretching from the Broad River, near the mountains in the west, to the Lumber near the seacoast—water some thirty counties in the state, a fan-shaped territory, embracing much the greater portion of the Piedmont section of the state, thence passing into South Carolina before reaching the seacoast.
The rivers of the third system are the Chowan
, the Roanoke
, the Tar
, the Neuse
and the Cape Fear
, which were important travel routes prior to the development of the railroads, being navigable some for fifty and others to near one hundred miles for boats of light draught. Of these the last three have their rise near the northern boundary of the state, in a comparatively small area, near the eastern source of the Yadkin. The Chowan has its rise in Virginia, below Appomattox Court House. The principal sources of the Roanoke, also, are in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge, though some of its head streams are in North Carolina, and very near those of the Yadkin. Only one of these rivers, the Cape Fear, flows directly into the ocean in this state; the others, after reaching the low country, move on with diminished current and empty into large bodies of water known as sounds. The Yadkin is extensively dammed for hydroelectric power and flood control. Below the last dam, just before flowing into South Carolina
it is renamed the Pee Dee River
.
The rivers of these three systems, with their tributaries afford a generous water supply. Flat lands border the streams, mostly forested with hardwoods and cypress. In their course from the high plateaus to the low country all the rivers of the state have a descent of many hundred feet, made by frequent falls and rapids. These falls and rapids afford all unlimited motive power for machinery of every description; and here many cotton mills and other factories were established from colonial times, and gave rise to many of the cities and towns.
The sounds, and the rivers which empty into them, constitute a network of waterway for steam and sailing vessels of eleven hundred miles. They are separated from the ocean by a line of sand banks, varying in breadth from one hundred yards to two miles (3 km), and in height from a few feet above the tide level to twenty-five or thirty feet, on which horses of a small breed, called "Bank Ponies," are reared in great numbers, and in a half wild state. These banks extend along the entire shore a distance of three hundred miles. Through them there are a number of inlets from the sea to the sounds, but they are usually too shallow except for vessels of light burden. Along its northern coast the seagoing commerce of the state has, in consequence, been restricted; Beaufort Harbor and the Cape Fear River, however, furnish excellent ports.
The sounds, and the rivers in their lower courses, abound with fish and waterfowl. They riversides are favorite sites for hunters of canvas-back ducks and other waterfowl. Fishermen visit for herring, shad and rock-fishing, especially along Albemarle Sound.
See also:
of North Carolina is mild and equable. This is due in part to its geographical position; midway in the Northern Hemisphere. Also, the high Appalachian chain offers, to some extent, a shield from cold winter winds of the northwest. On the ocean side, in winter, is the moderating influence of the warm Gulf Stream
, the current of which sweeps along near its shores.
The result of these combined causes is shown in the character of the seasons. Fog
s are frequent, especially during the summer; frosts do not occur until the middle of October; ice
forms on raised surfaces at least once a winter; snow
s are frequently light, seldom remaining on the ground more than two or three days, except in the higher elevations. The average rainfall is about fifty-three inches, which is pretty uniformly distributed throughout the year.
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
formed mostly by the Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
and Great Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
, the Middle or Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
Plateau, and the Eastern or Tidewater section, also known as the Coastal Plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...
. North Carolina covers 53821 square miles (139,396 km²) and is 560 miles (901.2 km) long by 150 miles (241.4 km) wide. The physical characteristics of the state can be pictured as a surface spread out upon a vast declivity, sloping down from the summits of the Smoky Mountains, an altitude of near seven thousand feet, to the ocean level.
Blue Ridge/Appalachian mountains
- The Great Smoky MountainsGreat Smoky MountainsThe Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
- also called the "Smokies", in Stokes County. - The Blue Ridge MountainsBlue Ridge MountainsThe Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
- North Carolina's largest mountain range, the Blue Ridge run across the state in a very tortuous course and often shoot out in spurs of great elevation over the surrounding terrain. The Black MountainsBlack Mountains (North Carolina)The Black Mountains are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Blacks are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States...
, a subrange of the Blue Ridge, are the highest mountains in the Eastern United StatesEastern United StatesThe Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
, and culminate in Mount MitchellMount MitchellMount Mitchell can refer to:* Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern United States* Mount Mitchell , in Jasper National Park of Canada* Mount Mitchell * Mount Mitchell , in Queensland...
at 6,684 feet (2,037.3 m) above sea level. - The Brushy MountainsBrushy Mountains (North Carolina)The Brushy Mountains are a mountain range located in northwestern North Carolina. They are an isolated "spur" of the much larger Blue Ridge Mountains, separated from them by the Yadkin River valley...
- A much smaller and lower mountain range, the Brushy Mountains are located entirely within the state's borders. Often called the "Brushies", they divide, for the greater part of their courses, the waters of the Catawba RiverCatawba RiverThe Catawba River is a tributary of the Wateree River in the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. The river is approximately 220 miles long...
and Yadkin RiverYadkin RiverThe Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, power, and flood control. The river becomes the Pee Dee...
. The Brushy Mountains begin at Hibriten MountainHibriten MountainHibriten Mountain, located just east of Lenoir, North Carolina, marks the western end of the Brushy Mountains range. The mountain's summit is nearly 1,000 feet above the surrounding terrain...
in Caldwell CountyCaldwell County, North Carolina-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,415 people, 30,768 households, and 22,399 families residing in the county. The population density was 164 people per square mile . There were 33,430 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile...
and terminate in Pilot MountainPilot Mountain (North Carolina)Pilot Mountain, a metamorphic quartzite monadnock rising to a peak above sea level, is one of the most distinctive natural features in the state of North Carolina. It is a remnant of the ancient chain of Sauratown Mountains. The Saura were the earliest known inhabitants of the region...
and the Sauratown MountainsSauratown MountainsThe Sauratown Mountains, which are sometimes called "the mountains away from the mountains", are an isolated mountain range located within Stokes and Surry counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina...
in Stokes County. The highest point in the Brushy Mountains is Pores KnobPores Knob-Physical features:Pores Knob is the highest point of the Brushy Mountains chain. The Brushy Mountains are a deeply eroded spur of the much larger Blue Ridge Mountains...
at 2,680 feet (817.4 m) above sea level. - The Uwharrie MountainsUwharrie MountainsThe Uwharrie Mountains are a mountain range in North Carolina. The range lies in the counties of Randolph, Montgomery, Stanly, and Davidson, although its foothills stretch into Cabarrus, Anson, Union counties and terminate in the hills of Person. Formed approximately 500 million years ago by...
- Named after a Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribe which once lived in the region. The Uwharries are North Carolina's easternmost mountain range; they are the oldest mountain range in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and are the lowest mountain range in the state. The Uwharries begin in Montgomery County, North CarolinaMontgomery County, North Carolina-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 26,822 people, 9,848 households, and 7,189 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile . There were 14,145 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
and terminate in the hills of Person County, North CarolinaPerson County, North CarolinaPerson County is a county located in the Piedmont region in north-central North Carolina in the United States. It is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area. The population was 39,464 at the 2010 census.The county seat is Roxboro...
. The highest point in the Uwharries is High Rock Mountain, which is only 1119 feet (341.1 m) above sea level. However, the Uwharries still rise several hundred feet above the surrounding terrain, which averages only 500 feet (152.4 m) above sea level.
Each of these mountain ranges is marked by distinct characteristics. The Smoky Mountain chain (as contrasted with the Blue Ridge) is more continuous, more elevated, more regular in its direction and height, and rises very uniformly from 5000 to 6621 feet (2,018.1 m).
The Blue Ridge is composed of many fragments scarcely connected into a continuous and regular chain. Its higher summits range from 5000 to nearly 6700 feet (2,042.2 m); however, its average elevation is from 3000 to 4000 feet (1,219.2 m). The eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge rise sharply from 1500 to 4500 feet (1,371.6 m) above the terrain to the east; to observers they often appear as a vast, lofty wall running across the state's western horizon.
The Brushy Mountain range presents, throughout the greater part of its course, a remarkable uniformity in direction and elevation, many of its peaks rising above 2000 feet (609.6 m), and a few rising above 2500 feet (762 m).
The last, the Uwharrie range, sometimes presents a succession of elevated ridges, then a number of bold and isolated knobs, which often appear higher than they actually are, due to the relative flatness of the surrounding terrain.
The mountain section consists of the tallest peaks east of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. The tallest of the Appalachian Mountains is Mount Mitchell. Mount Mitchell is also the tallest point east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
The section enclosed within these limits is in shape somewhat like an ellipse
Ellipse
In geometry, an ellipse is a plane curve that results from the intersection of a cone by a plane in a way that produces a closed curve. Circles are special cases of ellipses, obtained when the cutting plane is orthogonal to the cone's axis...
. Its length is about one hundred and eighty miles; its average breadth from twenty to fifty miles. It is a high plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
, from the plane of which several high mountains rise, including the Roan
Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)
Roan Mountain is the highpoint of the Roan-Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The mountain is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, and includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden, and the longest...
, the Grandfather, and the Black. Between the mountains are scenic fertile valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s, plentifully watered by stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s.
The mountains lie within the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
The Appalachian-Blue Ridge Forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the Eastern United States, delineated by the World Wide Fund for Nature.-Setting:...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
and are heavily forested. They often feature thick underbrush, except a few which have prairies on their summits, called balds
Appalachian balds
In the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are mountain summits or crests covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected....
.
Piedmont
The Piedmont plateau forms the central third of the state. The Piedmont is a hilly region and contains the state's largest cities. Elevations in the Piedmont vary from 300 feet to 1,100 feet above sea level. Isolated mountain ranges are scattered here, mostly on the Western side, but few of them reach over 1,200 feet. The Piedmont lies within the Southeastern mixed forestsSoutheastern mixed forests
The Southeastern mixed forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the United States.-Setting:This ecoregion covers the Piedmont of the eastern United States, stretching in a broad arc from Maryland southwest to Mississippi. It is distinguished from neighboring ecoregions by elevation...
ecoregion and has many forests. The Piedmont borders the Coastal Plain at the Fall Line
Fall line
A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...
. An important resource throughout the Piedmont is tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
.
Coastal Plain
Fall line
A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...
, a line of hills which stretch from the Sandhills
Sandhills (Carolina)
The Sandhills is a region in the interior of the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is a strip of ancient beach dunes which generally divides the Piedmont from the coastal plain, and is the evidence of a former coastline when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower. The...
region along the South Carolina border, through Fayetteville
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
, then Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, and finally through Henderson, North Carolina
Henderson, North Carolina
Henderson, with a population of 16,095 at the 2000 census, is the county seat of Vance County, North Carolina, United States.The city was named in honor of former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson, who lived nearby and was a friend of early settler Lewis Reavis...
near the Virginia border. The fall line marks where the Piedmont plateau drops down to the coastal plain; it also marks where waterfalls begin to appear on streams and rivers in the state. The hills of the fall line drop 150–350 feet in an eastward direction; while noticeable, the drop is quite gradual and occurs over a width of 1–3 miles. East of the fall line the coastal plain is relatively flat, with sandy soils ideal for growing tobacco, cotton, soybeans, and melons. The natural lands are those of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests
Middle Atlantic coastal forests
The Middle Atlantic coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the United States.-Setting:The Middle Atlantic coastal forests stretch along the Atlantic coast of the United States from the Delmarva Peninsula south to the Georgia coast...
ecoregion. The rivers of the coastal plain are much wider and deeper than those of the Piedmont or mountains, and flow more slowly. The coastal plain encompasses the two largest landlocked sounds
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
in the United States; Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a long barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located,...
in the north and Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, being long and 24 to 48 km wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras. The Neuse and Pamlico rivers flow in...
in the south. Pamlico Sound is larger than the State of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. The coastal plain is covered by thick forests of pines and other evergreens; due to the sandy soils it is difficult for many deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees to grow. The easternmost portion of the state contains the Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
, sandy islands that do not have coral reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
s to attach to and thus are constantly shifting their locations. The Outer Banks are known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because numerous ships have been wrecked along their beaches and shoals due to storms and strong tides. The Coastal Plain is host to three capes
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
: Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear. Despite the fact that North Carolina has hundreds of miles of beachfront territory, due to the Outer Banks and swampland along the coast the state lacks a good natural harbor. As such North Carolina never developed a major port city as did neighboring states such as Georgia (Savannah), South Carolina (Charleston), and Virginia (Norfolk). Wilmington, located 15 miles (24 km) up the Cape Fear River
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina in the United States. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The overall water quality of the river is continuously measured and monitored by and conducted by the , , and the...
, and Morehead city located on the other side of the bridge from Atlantic beach crossing the Bogue Sound remain the state's only two major ports; the Cape Fear river often has to be dredged to keep it open to large merchant ships.
Agriculture
The cultivated productions of the Mountain section are sweet corn, wheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, oat
Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
s, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, fruits and vegetables. Cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
are also reared quite extensively for market, and large numbers of chickens are raised for market in the northwestern mountains and foothills. A prominent new industry in the mountains is the raising and selling of Christmas Trees. In the Piedmont region of central North Carolina are found all the products of the mountains, although over the southern half cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
appears as the staple product. In the deep, loamy soils of the coastal region, cotton, corn, and oats are the staple crops, and truck farming (growing fruits and vegetables for northern markets), constitutes a flourishing industry. Formerly longleaf pine
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
forests produced tar, pitch and turpentine, and more recently lumber. Little old growth longleaf area is left; much has been replanted in loblolly pine
Loblolly Pine
Pinus taeda is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from central Texas east to Florida, and north to Delaware. It is particularly dominant in the eastern half of North Carolina, where there are huge expanses consisting solely of Loblolly Pine trees...
, which is used for paper pulp, plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
, and lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
. Four of the grape varieties of America are native to North Carolina; the Catawba
Catawba (grape)
Catawba is a red hybrid grape variety used for wine as well as juice, jams and jellies. The grape can have a pronounced musky or "foxy" flavor. Grown predominantly on the East Coast of the United States, this purplish-red grape is a likely cross of the native American Vitis labrusca and another...
, Isabella
Isabella (grape)
The Isabella grape is a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca or 'fox grape' which is used for table, juice and wine production.-Appearance and use:...
, Lincoln, and Scuppernong
Scuppernong
The scuppernong is a large variety of muscadine , a species of grape native to the southeastern United States. It is usually a greenish or bronze color and is similar in appearance and texture to a white grape, but rounder and larger and first known as the 'big white grape'...
.
River systems
There are three distinct systems of rivers in the state: those that find their way to the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
through the Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, those that flow through South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
to the sea and those that reach the sea along the North Carolina coast. The divide between the first and the second is the Blue Ridge chain of mountains; that between the second and third systems is found in an elevation extending from the Blue Ridge, near the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
line, just between the sources of the Yadkin River
Yadkin River
The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, power, and flood control. The river becomes the Pee Dee...
and the Roanoke River
Roanoke River
The Roanoke River is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, 410 mi long. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont...
, in a south-easterly direction some two hundred miles, almost to the seacoast below Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. In the divide between the first and second systems, which is also the great watershed between the Atlantic slope and the Mississippi Valley, a singular anomaly is presented, for it is formed not by the lofty Smoky range, but by the Blue Ridge—not, therefore, at the crest of the great slope which the surface of the state presents, but on a line lower down. On the western flank of this lower range the French Broad
French Broad River
The French Broad River flows from near the village of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into the state of Tennessee. Its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville is the beginning of the Tennessee River....
and the other rivers of the first section, including the headwaters of the Great Kanawha
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...
, have their rise. In their course through the Smoky Mountains to the Mississippi they pass along chasms or "gaps" from three thousand to four thousand feet in depth. These chasms or "gaps" are more than a thousand feet lower than those of the corresponding parts of the Blue Ridge.
The rivers of the third system are the Chowan
Chowan River
The Chowan River is a blackwater river formed with the merging of Virginia's Blackwater and Nottoway rivers near the stateline between Virginia and North Carolina. According to the USGS a variant name is Choan River....
, the Roanoke
Roanoke River
The Roanoke River is a river in southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States, 410 mi long. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast across the Piedmont...
, the Tar
Tar River
The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, of northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it underpasses the U.S...
, the Neuse
Neuse River
The Neuse River is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in North Carolina. The Trent River joins it at New Bern. Its drainage basin, measuring in area,...
and the Cape Fear
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina in the United States. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The overall water quality of the river is continuously measured and monitored by and conducted by the , , and the...
, which were important travel routes prior to the development of the railroads, being navigable some for fifty and others to near one hundred miles for boats of light draught. Of these the last three have their rise near the northern boundary of the state, in a comparatively small area, near the eastern source of the Yadkin. The Chowan has its rise in Virginia, below Appomattox Court House. The principal sources of the Roanoke, also, are in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge, though some of its head streams are in North Carolina, and very near those of the Yadkin. Only one of these rivers, the Cape Fear, flows directly into the ocean in this state; the others, after reaching the low country, move on with diminished current and empty into large bodies of water known as sounds. The Yadkin is extensively dammed for hydroelectric power and flood control. Below the last dam, just before flowing into South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
it is renamed the Pee Dee River
Pee Dee River
The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in North Carolina and South Carolina. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course above the mouth of the Uwharrie River is known as the Yadkin River. It is extensively dammed for flood...
.
The rivers of these three systems, with their tributaries afford a generous water supply. Flat lands border the streams, mostly forested with hardwoods and cypress. In their course from the high plateaus to the low country all the rivers of the state have a descent of many hundred feet, made by frequent falls and rapids. These falls and rapids afford all unlimited motive power for machinery of every description; and here many cotton mills and other factories were established from colonial times, and gave rise to many of the cities and towns.
The sounds, and the rivers which empty into them, constitute a network of waterway for steam and sailing vessels of eleven hundred miles. They are separated from the ocean by a line of sand banks, varying in breadth from one hundred yards to two miles (3 km), and in height from a few feet above the tide level to twenty-five or thirty feet, on which horses of a small breed, called "Bank Ponies," are reared in great numbers, and in a half wild state. These banks extend along the entire shore a distance of three hundred miles. Through them there are a number of inlets from the sea to the sounds, but they are usually too shallow except for vessels of light burden. Along its northern coast the seagoing commerce of the state has, in consequence, been restricted; Beaufort Harbor and the Cape Fear River, however, furnish excellent ports.
The sounds, and the rivers in their lower courses, abound with fish and waterfowl. They riversides are favorite sites for hunters of canvas-back ducks and other waterfowl. Fishermen visit for herring, shad and rock-fishing, especially along Albemarle Sound.
See also:
Climate
The climateClimate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
of North Carolina is mild and equable. This is due in part to its geographical position; midway in the Northern Hemisphere. Also, the high Appalachian chain offers, to some extent, a shield from cold winter winds of the northwest. On the ocean side, in winter, is the moderating influence of the warm Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
, the current of which sweeps along near its shores.
The result of these combined causes is shown in the character of the seasons. Fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
s are frequent, especially during the summer; frosts do not occur until the middle of October; ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
forms on raised surfaces at least once a winter; snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
s are frequently light, seldom remaining on the ground more than two or three days, except in the higher elevations. The average rainfall is about fifty-three inches, which is pretty uniformly distributed throughout the year.