Introduction to North Carolina

1. Introduction to North Carolina

2. What are the four major regions of NC? • Tidewater • Coastal Plain • Piedmont • Mountains

3. NC Maps

4. So where is the 4th region? • Our book uses four regions-breaking up the coastal plain into two regions.

5. Section 1: The Tidewater Region ESSENTIAL QUESTION • What are the major features of the Tidewater Region? • What words do I need to know? • sound • barrier islands • inlet • estuary • pocosin • Savanna • sediment

6. Section 1: The Tidewater Region • Narrow strip of land along the Atlantic Ocean • 30-50 miles wide • Tides affect the region’s water • sounds: inland bodies of salt/fresh water mix

7. Barrier Islands • Most less than two miles across, barely above sea level, and ever changing due to surf and wind • The Outer Banks are the most famous barrier islands • At Cape Hatteras islands are widest; Jockey’s Ridge is tallest point (114’) • Inlets: low places in the sand; allows water from the ocean into the sound • “Graveyard of the Atlantic”: nickname for waters near Cape Hatteras – dangerous due to storms caused by warm Gulf Stream colliding with cold Labrador Current • Cape Fear: true break in the island chain; Cape Fear River flows directly into the Atlantic

8. The Sounds • Each sound fed by fresh water river • Oldest towns in NC near the sounds • Great location for trade along river routes and ocean • Fishing is an important industry • Sediment (soil, clay, gravel) is deposited by the rivers in the sounds – makes them too shallow for large ships • estuaries: salt water wetlands; these marshes are home to shellfish and shrimp

9. Swamps and Lakes • pocosins: wetland type; Indian name means “swamp on a hill” • Alligator and Big Pocosin are the largest • savanna: wetland type • tall grasses mix with various pines • example: Green Swamp (home of Venus Fly Trap) • Most natural lakes in NC are in the Tidewater • Lake Mattamuskeet is largest (only 6’ deep) • Least populated area of the state Click here to return to Main Menu.

10. Section 2: The Coastal Plain Region ESSENTIAL QUESTION • What are the major features of the Coastal Plain Region? • What words do I need to know? • crossroads hamlets • tobacco towns • Carolina bays • Sandhills

11. Section 2: The Coastal Plain Region • Covers about 1/3 of the state • Rich soil and flat land make area good for farming • Crossroads hamlets: serve rural areas, usually one or two stores, church, school, etc. Greenville, NC Wilson, NC

12. Tobacco Towns • Towns whose life and culture were dominated by tobacco farming • Largest tobacco growing area in the world • In mid-1900s, nearly every town in the coastal plain had at least one tobacco warehouse • Tobacco farming is declining because of health risks associated with smoking and loss of government payments to guarantee farmers’ income • Longleaf pines were original plants of the region; millions of acres cut down for tobacco farming

13. Carolina Bays • Carolina Bays are an unusual feature of the state • Hundreds of elongated depressions in the ground, from ½ to 2 miles long and a mile wide • Some filled with water; others are wet and mucky in wet times, and dry other parts of the year • Origin unknown Google Maps

14. The Sandhills • Located northwest of the bays • Sandy, rolling ridges left by ancient coast of the Atlantic Ocean • Very poor soil • Used as home for golf courses and Fort Bragg military installation

15. Section 3: The Piedmont Region ESSENTIAL QUESTION • What are the major features of the Piedmont Region? • What words do I need to know? • fall line • headwaters • sectionalism • mill village • NASCAR • monadnock

16. Section 3: The Piedmont Region • Large region of NC known for hills and red clay soil • Red clay is a subsoil brought up through the black woods dirt as a result of timber loss and plowing fields • Piedmont: from Latin, means “foot of the mountains” • Principal rivers: Yadkin-Pee Dee and Catawba – flow into South Carolina • River “highways” connected people in western NC with SC more than they did with eastern NC, resulting in “sectionalism” • Over ½ of region is forests; pines cover old farms • Most large cities in NC are in this region. • Fall Line: divides the coastal plain from the Piedmont, noted by the last waterfall a river hits before going to the ocean

17. Farms and Factories • Soil made farming difficult in the Piedmont • Livestock and dairy farms were more profitable, but have declined • Economy of the region has depended on factories to produce textiles, furniture and cigarettes • mill villages: clusters of homes in a town where mill workers lived; the company often provided the homes, schools, and stores • 1990s: decline in industry • Textile and furniture factories moved to Asia

18. Banking and Racing • Charlotte: national banking center and home to NASCAR, and NASCAR Hall of Fame • Winston-Salem and Durham have grown in medical service industries linked to Wake Forest and Duke Universities • Salisbury: home to grocery industry • Research Triangle Park: leader in pharmaceuticals and computers

19. The Uwharries • monadnocks: geological formation in which a point of land sticks out due to erosion of surrounding land • Uwharrie Mountains: cluster of monadnocks south of Greensboro (ex. Morrow Mountain) – slopes and slate soil discouraged settlement • Piedmont Crescent: string of towns from Raleigh to Charlotte

20. Section 4: The Mountains Region ESSENTIAL QUESTION • What are the major features of the Mountains Region? • What words do I need to know? • elevation • bald • cove

21. Section 4: The Mountains Region • Blue Ridge: more than 1,000 ft above the Piedmont hills; eastern boundary of the Appalachians • Blue Ridge Parkway: road that runs along the top of the ridge – Cherokee NC to Waynesboro, VA • Continental Divide – streams on the east run to the Atlantic; streams on the west run to the Gulf of Mexico

22. Runs from Pennsylvania to Georgia One long landform (like the barrier islands) with peaks and gaps Early settlers depended on gaps to get through the mountains 1870s: tunnels and road beds laid through Swanannoa Gap – near current I-40 from Old Fort to Black Mountain Run from New York to Alabama 43 peaks in NC over 6,000 feet Mt. Mitchell (6,684 ft): highest point east of the Rockies Ranges Black Mountains: known for dark shadows during thunderstorms Great Smoky Mountains: dew rises in mists creating a smoky effect; tallest peaks are Clingman’s Dome and Mt. Guyot; great variety of plants Balsams: large number of balds (places where few trees grow) The Appalachians: The Blue Ridge

23. Mountain Streams and Rocks • Rivers run north and west out of NC • Asheville is largest city in the region • Cherokee built their villages along the Tennessee River • Most of the over 100 lakes are manmade (ex. Lake Lure & Fontana Lake) • Fontana Dam (1930s) is highest in eastern US ; built to provide cheaper electricity • Famous sites: Blowing Rock, Chimney Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Nantahala River Gorge

24. The Mountains Economy • Early settlers isolated from others • Farming, traveling, trading were more difficult • Towns developed in valley areas • Known for sales of local plants with medicinal properties • Tourism is a major industry • Christmas tree is a new and growing industry; Fraser firs most popular

25. Section 5: North Carolina’s Weather and Climate ESSENTIAL QUESTION • What are characteristics of North Carolina’s climate? • What words do I need to know? • weather • climate • westerlies • humidity • precipitation • tornado • hurricane

26. Section 5: North Carolina’s Weather and Climate • weather: short-term atmospheric conditions • climate: long-term atmospheric conditions • temperate climate: general climate zone for NC; known for few extremes of temperature or precipitation during the year • -34°F: record cold at Mt. Mitchell (1985) • Humidity (moisture in the air) can make temperatures feel uncomfortably warm