North Carolina encompasses three geographic regions, the demarcation lines of which are not always distinct: the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the Mountains.
Physical Divisions.
About two fifths of the state lies within the broad, almost level Coastal Plain. This extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the fall line of the eastern rivers and covers a broad sweep of beaches and islands, swamps and forested dunes, and large fertile fields. Fringing virtually the entire Atlantic coast of the state is a long chain of barrier islands - the Outer Banks - ranging in height from a few feet to more than 100 feet (30 meters) at Kill Devil Hill and Jockey's Ride. From these banks, Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear jut out into the ocean. Between the banks and the mainland are five sounds: Currituck, Albermarle, Palmico, Core, and Bogue. Shifting inlets connecting the sounds to one another and to the ocean make navigation hazardous. The sea has claimed so many ships offshore that Cape Hatteras is called the "graveyard of the Atlantic."
The tidewater area extends inland from the coast as far as the effects of the tide are visible - roughly to a line through Gatesville, Washington, New Bern, Jacksonville, and Wilmington. Low and often swampy, this region contains a large portion of the Great Dismal Swamp (which North Carolina shares with Virginia) and numerous bays, inlets, and natural lakes. To the west the inland Coastal Plain contains much fertile land, mainly sandy and silt loams, and is the state's largest and best farming region. The Sandhills, an area of pine-covered dunes in the southwestern corner of the Coastal Plain, is famous as a winter resort and peach-producing region.
West of the Coastal Plain is the Piedmont, a stretch of gently rolling country, 200 miles (320 km) wide, that rises to meet the mountain region. The soil of this midland region is of many types, but red clay predominates. The trees are mostly hardwoods and pines. The streams usually are narrow, shallow, and swift - excellent for the development of hydroelectric power. Piedmont North Carolina is the location of the state's largest cities, with good transportation facilities and diversified farming.
North Carolina's mountain region is part of the Appalachian Highlands. There are two spectacular chains - the Blue Ridge in the eastern part of the region and the Great Smoky Mountains to their west, the latter forming the boundary between North Carolina and Tennessee. The intervening plateau has many cross-ranges, one of which, the Black Mountains, contains Mt. Mitchell, which, at 6,684 feet (2039 meters), is the highest peak in the eastern United States. Mountaintops typically are rounded and forested, even at the higher elevations.
Rivers and Lakes.
The river system of the state may be divided into three groups, corresponding to the three topographic regions. The first group includes the Chowan, Roanoke, Tar-Pamlico, Neuse-Trent, cape Fear, and several smaller rivers. All but the Chowan rise in the Piedmont, cross the Coastal Plain, and flow into the sounds and ocean. The second group includes the Yadkin-Pee Dee, Catawba, Broad, and several smaller rivers that have their sources on the southeastern slopes of the Blue Ridge and drain south and east before reaching the ocean through South Carolina and Georgia. The third group includes the French Broad, Little Tennessee, Hiwassee (or Hiawassee), Pigeon, New Elk, and Watauga rivers. These rise west of the Blue Ridge and flow into Tennessee and Ohio, eventually draining about one eighth of the state before flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. One river - called the New River despite its rank as the world's second-oldest river - flows northward into the Ohio.
The largest natural lakes are Mattamuskeet, Waccamaw, Phelps, Pungo, and Alligator, all in the Coastal Plain. Many artificial lakes dot the Piedmont. Created by large dams on the major rivers, they include Lake Norman on the Catawba, the largest lake in the state; Kerr Reservoir on the Roanoke, shared with Virginia; Falls Lake on the Neuse near Raleigh; and Fontana Lake on the Little Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Climate.
Moderated by the Gulf Stream off the coast and by the protective mountain barrier on the west, the climate of North Carolina is generally mild. The average annual temperatures range from a January high of 51 degrees F (11 degrees C) and low of 29 degrees F (-2 degrees C) to 87 degrees F (31 degrees C) and 66 degrees F (19 degrees C), respectively in July. Differences in elevation and proximity to the ocean, however, make it possible for summer temperatures in the western mountains to average many degrees lower than those along the shore. Rain falls throughout the year and is heaviest along the coast in summer. Average annual rainfall is about 43 inches (1,100 mm). Snow is rare along the coast but averages about 10 inches (250 mm) in the west and north, with heavier amounts in the higher mountains. Growing seasons vary regionally, from 130 frost-free days in the mountains to 300 days in the Outer Banks.
Plants and Wildlife.
North Carolina has the greatest diversity of natural conditions of any Eastern state, making for a wide variety of natural vegetation and wildlife. Spruce and balsam - subarctic species - grow in the high mountains. Palm and other subtropical trees are found along the southern stretch of the coast. More than half the state is covered by forest. The area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park represents a slice of the enormous forest that once extended across the country from the Atlantic to the Midwestern prairies. Here in the highlands, spruce, balsam, oak, and hickory are the dominant species. In the Piedmont, oak, hickory, ash, and pine are the commercial woods; and on the Coastal Plain, pine, gum, cypress, and oak are important. Native shrubs include rhododendron, mountain laurel, hardy azalea, sumac, and yaupon. The fascinating insectivorous Venus' flytrap is native to the southeastern counties. The plentiful wildlife includes rabbits, squirrels, deer, opossums, and many birds, such as the sparrow, cardinal (the state bird), towhee, dove, and mockingbird.
Natural Resources.
The state's most valuable natural resources are its soil, which yields bountiful forests and crops, and its streams, the water of which helps produce electric power. Other resources include minerals and rocks, but few have been of major importance to the economy. Once known as the "golden state" because of its primacy in gold production, North Carolina now mines few metallic minerals. Tungsten and sulfide deposits (copper, lead, and zinc) have been tapped only lightly. Nonmetallic minerals are distributed across the state. Gemstones attract treasure hunters to the western Piedmont and mountains, where emeralds, rubies, sapphires, hiddenite, and garnet are found. Coal was once mined in modest quantities, but exploration has yet to establish the presence of significant energy-producing minerals.
Environmental Protection.
Efforts to prevent soil erosion date back to the 19th century, and many parks and historic sites have been created to protect natural and historic areas. Other threats to the environment, however, were slow to be recognized. Garbage and waste were simply dumped; fertilizers and pesticides were used indiscriminately; residential and industrial development left the earth scarred; highways with wide rights-of-way cut through productive farmland and forests; wetlands were reclaimed for forests or for development; acid rain drifted onto the state; and fuel combustion and manufacturing processes gave off carbon monoxide and other pollutants. The drive to diversify the economy of a previously agricultural state thus increased the threat to the environment.
Not until the 1980's did the state awaken to the seriousness of the problem, and even then the legislature was slow to provide a strong environmental policy act. As late as 1982 only half of the municipal waste treatment plants complied with water quality standards, and throughout the 1980's, North Carolina sent much of its hazardous waste to facilities in other states under an interstate compact. When North Carolina's turn came to serve as host state, vociferous local opposition arose to the selection of specific sites. Public consciousness, however, dictated sacrifice to preserve clean air and water and to protect other natural resources. Encouragingly, some wildlife species, such as the brown pelican, previously threatened by human insensitivity to the environment, were removed from the endangered list.
