North Carolina

{{US state |

  Name            = North Carolina |
  Fullname        = State of North Carolina |
  Flag            = Flag of North Carolina.svg|

Flaglink = Flag of North Carolina |

  Seal            = North Carolina state seal.png |
  Map             = Map of USA highlighting North Carolina.png |

Nickname = Tar Heel State; Old North State | Motto = Esse quam videri | Capital = Raleigh | LargestCity = Charlotte | Governor = Mike Easley (D)| Senators = Elizabeth Dole (R)
Richard Burr (R) |

  PostalAbbreviation = NC |

OfficialLang = English | AreaRank = 28^th |

  TotalAreaUS     = 53,865 |
  TotalArea       = 139,509 |
  LandAreaUS      = 48,748  |
  LandArea        = 126,256 |
  WaterAreaUS     = 5,107  |
  WaterArea       = 13,227 |
  PCWater         = 9.5 |

PopRank = 11^th |

  2000Pop         = 8,049,313 |

DensityRank = 17^th |

  2000DensityUS   = 165.24  |
  2000Density     = 63.80 |

AdmittanceOrder = 12^th | AdmittanceDate = November 21, 1789 | TimeZone = Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |

  Latitude      = 34°N to 36°21'N |
  Longitude      = 75°30'W to 84°15'W |
  LengthUS        = 150   |
  Length          = 240 |
  WidthUS         = 560  | 
  Width           = 901 |

HighestPoint = Mt. Mitchell |

  HighestElevUS   = 6,684  |
  HighestElev     = 2,038 |
  MeanElevUS      = 705 |
  MeanElev        = 215 |

LowestElevUS = sea level—0 |

  LowestElev      =  0 |
  ISOCode         = US-NC |

Website = www.nc.govNorth Carolina is a state in the southeast of the United States of America. One of the original states, it was home to the first English colony in the Americas. It was also the location of the first successful heavier than air flight when the Wright brothers' took off from the beach at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy.

North Carolina Nicknames

*The Tar Heel State
*Cackalacky or North Cackalacky
*Old North State
*The Goodliest Land

Geography

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 topographic map

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 encompass two sounds — Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south; they are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States. Inland the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils which grow tobacco, soybeans, and cotton. The major rivers of this section, the Neuse River, Tar River, Pamlico River, and Cape Fear River, tend to be slow-moving and wide.

Bodie Island Lighthouse, one of the Outer Banks attractions.

The coastal plain turns into 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 isolated mountain ridges. Many small, deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the Saura Mountains, Pilot Mountain, the Uwharrie Mountains, Crowders Mountain, Kings Mountain, 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, Balsams, Pisgahs, 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. Due to the higher altitude in the mountains, the climate often differs starkly from the rest of the state. Winters in western NC typically feature significant snowfall and subfreezing temperatures more akin to a northern state than a southern one.

Areas under the management of the National Park Service include:

The Blue Ridge Mountains are one of the most scenic areas in the Southeastern United States

*Appalachian National Scenic Trail
*Blue Ridge Parkway
*Cape Hatteras National Seashore
*Cape Lookout National Seashore
*Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site at Flat Rock
*Croatan National Park in Eastern North Carolina
*Fort Raleigh National Historic Site at Manteo
*Great Smoky Mountains National Park
*Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro
*Moores Creek National Battlefield near Currie
*Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
*Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
*Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
*Uwharrie National Forest

Ecology

Main article: Wildlife of North Carolina

History

Main article: History of North Carolina

Native Americans and Lost Colony

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 first 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.

Colonial period and Revolutionary War

The first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were British colonists migrating south from Virginia, following a rapid growth of the colony and the subsequent shortage of available farmland. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian immigrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655.Fenn and Wood, Natives and Newcomers, pp. 24-25 By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina was experiencing full-scale British settlement.Powell, North Carolina Through Four Centuries, p. 105

During the same period, the English monarch Charles II gave the province to the Lords Proprietors, a group of noblemen who had helped restore Charles to the throne in 1660. The new province of "Carolina" was named in honor and memory of King Charles I (Latin: Carolus). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. With the exception of the Earl Granville's holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later. [1]) 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. The dates of both of these independence-related events are memorialized on the state flag and state seal. [2]

During the Revolutionary War, Thomas Sumter formed and led a resistance group, recruiting men from South and North Carolina to fight the British Army. He and his troops fiercely fought the British and continuously disrupted supply chains and lines of communication.

Later, the Battle of Guilford Court House was a pivotal battle fought on March 15, 1781 inside the present-day city of Greensboro, North Carolina. The battle saw 1,900 British troops, under General Charles Cornwallis, routed by an American force, under Rhode Island native General Nathaniel Greene, numbering 4,400.

On November 21, 1789, North Carolina ratified the Constitution to become the twelfth state in the Union. It is one of the main reasons the United States Bill of Rights exists. The state refused to ratify the constitution until some sort of declaration of the peoples rights was added. The North Carolina Government received a letter from Continental Army General George Washington stating that this was a wonderful idea. Thus, the Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution. North Carolina worked to establish its state and local governments. In 1840, it completed the state capitol building in Raleigh, still standing today. In mid-century the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by construction of a 129 mile (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad," from Fayetteville in the east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem).

Civil War

In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state. 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 in the Civil War it provided at least 125,000 troops to the Confederacy— more than any other Confederate 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 non-slaveowning 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 largest and 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. In March of 1865, Sherman was able to capture his chief North Carolina objective when he took Goldsboro; at the time it was the main railroad junction in North Carolina. Johnston surrendered one of the largest Confederate armies at Bennett Place, a farm house in what is now Durham, in late April 1865, weeks after General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. A small, integrated guerrilla force of white and Cherokee Confederates under William Holland Thomas continued fighting in the mountains until May 10. This unit, called the "Thomas Legion," was North Carolina's sole legion and was never actually defeated by Union troops. On May 6, 1865, Thomas' Legion fired "The Last Shot" of the Civil War east of the Mississippi River in White Sulphur Springs, North Carolina. It had the distinction of capturing a city (Waynesville) then voluntarily ceasing from hostilities. 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 a North Carolinian, Private Henry Wyatt, at the Battle of Big Bethel in 1861. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in Pickett'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."

Demographics

Historical populations
Census year	Population
1790	393,751
1800	478,103
1810	556,526
1820	638,829
1830	737,987
1840	753,419
1850	869,039
1860	992,622
1870	1,071,361
1880	1,399,750
1890	1,617,949
1900	1,893,810
1910	2,206,287
1920	2,559,123
1930	3,170,276
1940	3,571,623
1950	4,061,929
1960	4,556,155
1970	5,082,059
1980	5,881,766
1990	6,628,637
2000	8,049,313
2005	8,683,242Est

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, North Carolina has an estimated population of 8,683,242, which is an increase of 142,774, or 1.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 636,751, or 7.9%, 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 248,097 people (that is 627,309 births minus 379,212 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 390,672 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 158,224 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 232,448 people.

North Carolina has 4 Metropolitan Combined Statistical Areas with a population over 1 million:
*The Metrolina: Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, NC-SC - population 2,067,810
*The Piedmont Triad: Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point - population of 1,473,679
*The Triangle: Raleigh/Durham/Cary (official - known colloquially as Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) - population of 1,467,434
* The Cluster Metro: Fayetteville/Fort Bragg/Lumberton, NC - population 763,169

North Carolina Population Density Map

The racial makeup of the state as of 2006 is:
*67.4% White, not of Hispanic origin
*19.1% Black
*8.1% Hispanic of any race
*3.0% Asian
*1.3% Native American
*1.0% Two or more races

The five largest ancestry groups in North Carolina are: African American (21.6%), Scots & Scots-Irish (13.9%), English (9.5%), German (9.5%), Irish (7.4%). North Carolina has one of the largest Native American populations in the United States.

African-Americans

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 km²).

European-Americans

North Carolinians of Scots-Irish, Scottish and English ancestry are concentrated in the western mountains, coastal areas, and rural areas of the central Piedmont. Descendents of German ancestry, often of subsequent migration from Pennsylvania, can also be found in smaller numbers throughout the Piedmont. In the Winston-Salem area, there is a substantial population of Czech ancestry from the migration of Moravians during the 18th century.

Native Americans

Estimated population figures for Native American in North Carolina as of 2004 is 110,198, or 1.3% of the total North Carolina population. Only five states (California, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas) have a larger Native American population than North Carolina. The total Native American and Alaska Native population in the United States is 2,824,751, or 0.95% of total U.S. population.

To date, North Carolina recognizes eight Native American tribal nations within its state borders:
*The Lumbee are the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River, the ninth largest tribal nation, and the largest non-reservation, non-federally, albeit state-recognized tribe in the U.S. The Lumbee comprise roughly one-half the state of North Carolina's indigenous population of 84,000 with a population of 52,614, and live in Robeson, Hoke, Scotland, and Cumberland counties. The Lumbee received state recognition in 1885, and have maintained a relationship with the federal government since 1888. Though they lack formal federal recognition, they were recognized as Native Americans by an Act of Congress, known as the Lumbee Act, in 1956.
*The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were federally recognized in 1868 and received state recognition in 1889. The Eastern Cherokee live in western 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, 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 southeastern 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.

Hispanic and Asian-Americans

The state has one of the fastest growing Hispanic and Asian populations in the country; the populations have nearly quintupled and tripled respectively between 1990 and 2002. Most 2006 estimates claim Latinos to be slightly over 8.0% and Asians to be at least 3.2%.

6.7% of North Carolina's population were reported as under 5, 24.4% under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Religion

North Carolina, like other Southern states, has traditionally been overwhelmingly Protestant, with the largest Protestant denomination being the Baptists. However, the rapid influx of Northerners and immigrants from Central America is steadily increasing the number of Roman Catholics in the state. The current religious affiliations of the people of North Carolina are shown below:
*Christian – 88%
**Protestant – 77%
***Baptist – 40%
***Methodist – 10%
***Presbyterian – 3%
***Other Protestant or general Protestant – 24%
**Roman Catholic – 10%
**Other Christian – 1% (such as Eastern Orthodox or Mormon)
*Non-Religious – 11% (atheists, agnostics, and others)
*Other Religions – 1% (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism)

Economy

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state's 2004 total gross state product was $336 billion[3]. Its 2003 per capita personal income was $28,071, 38^th in the nation. North Carolina's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, tobacco, hogs, milk, nursery stock, cattle, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. However, North Carolina is the state most affected by outsourcing; one in five North Carolina manufacturing jobs has been lost to overseas competition.Fishman, China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World, p. 179

Over the past century, North Carolina has grown to become a national leader in agriculture, financial services, and industry. The state's industrial output—mainly textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, paper and pulp/paper products—ranked eighth in the nation in the early 1990s. The textile industry, which was once a mainstay of the state's economy, has been steadily losing jobs to markets in Latin America and Asia for the past 25 years. Over the past few years another important Carolina industry, furniture production, has also been hard-hit by jobs moving to Asia (especially China). Tobacco, 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 or leave farming altogether. Recently, technology, research, and banking have been on the rise, especially with the creation of the Research Triangle Park between Raleigh and Durham in the 1950's, along with Charlotte's newfound status as the second largest banking center in the United States (with New York City being the largest). The state is also a center of American motorsports, with many NASCAR racing teams and related industries located near Charlotte. NASCAR recently announced that the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be built in Charlotte.

North Carolina is one of the largest film making states outside of California and New York. Movie studios are located in Shelby, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Asheville, and Wilmington. Some of the films and television shows filmed in North Carolina include: Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Last of the Mohicans, Bull Durham, The Fugitive, Cape Fear, Dirty Dancing, Firestarter, Being There, The Crow, Cabin Fever, Shallow Hal, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. 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. 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. Ironically, however, the show was filmed not in North Carolina, but California.

North Carolina personal income tax is divided into 4 brackets, ranging from 6.0 percent to 8.25 percent. The state sales tax is 4.5 percent. Most taxable sales or purchases are subject to the state tax as well as the 2.5 percent local tax rate levied by all counties, for a combined 7 percent. Mecklenburg County has an additional 0.5 percent local tax for public transportation, bringing sales taxes there to a total 7.5 percent. Effective January 1, 2006, the total local rate of tax in Dare County increased to 3.5 percent, producing a combined state and local rate there of 8 percent. The property tax in North Carolina is a locally assessed tax, collected by the counties. The three main elements of the property tax system in North Carolina are real property, motor vehicles and personal property (inventories and household personal property are exempt).

Transportation

Airports

*Asheville Regional Airport
*Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
*Craven Regional Airport (New Bern)
*Fayetteville Regional Airport (Grannis Field)
*Foothills Regional Airport (Morganton / Lenoir)
*Goldsboro Wayne County Airport
*Hickory Regional Airport
*Lake Norman Regional Airport
*Monroe Regional Airport
*Piedmont Triad International Airport (Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point)
*Pitt-Greenville Airport
*Raleigh-Durham International Airport
*Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport (Rocky Mount / Wilson / Elm City)
*Statesville Regional Airport
*Wilmington International Airport

Major highways

{|valign="top"|
*Interstate 26
*Interstate 40
*Interstate 73
*Interstate 74
*Interstate 77
*Interstate 85
*Interstate 95
*Interstate 240
*Interstate 277
*Interstate 440
*Interstate 485
*Interstate 540
*Interstate 785