North Carolina

North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. North Carolina is the 28th-most extensive and the 9th-most populous of the U.S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties. The capital is Raleigh, which along with Durham and Chapel Hill is home to the largest research park in the United States (Research Triangle Park). The most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second-largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet (2,037 m) at Mount Mitchell, the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River. The climate of the coastal plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate. North Carolina consists of three main geographic regions: the Atlantic coastal plain, occupying the eastern portion of the state; the central Piedmont region, and the Mountain region in the west, which is part of the Appalachian Mountains. The coastal plain consists of more specifically-defined areas known as the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow barrier islands separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets, including Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound, the tidewater region, the native home of the venus flytrap, and the inner coastal plain, where longleaf pine trees are native. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers.

North Carolina is known under different nicknames; aka First in Flight, or First in Freedom, or Old North State, or Tar Heel State, or Turpentine State, or Variety Vacationland and detailed official information about North Carolina can be found on the homepage at www. nc.gov.

As shown in the given North Carolina location map that North Carolina is located in the south-eastern region of the United States. North Carolina map also shows that the state shares its boundary with Virginia in the north, Tennessee in the west, Georgia in the south-west, and South Carolina in the south. Besides, Atlantic Ocean lies in the east of the state.

The capital city of state is Raleigh; however, the largest city is Charlotte. The climate type of state is largely humid sub-tropical type.

The important economic sectors of the state are agriculture, financial services, and manufacturing. Important agricultural produce are tobacco, hogs, milk, nursery stock, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cattle, and poultry and eggs. And, the important industries are textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, paper and pulp and paper products.

Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall, stopping off to take photos and enjoy a picnic lunch with the kids. For a very "Sound of Music" moment, head to Craggy Gardens Trail. You can pick up the parkway in Asheville, North Carolina.

The US State North Carolina occupies 125,918 m², about 1,38 % of the total territory of the USA of 9,148,020 m². The total population of the US State North Carolina with 10,273,419 inhabitants (in 2017) has already increased by 27,63 % in this millennium. Almost 40 years ago there were 4,391,653 fewer people. The capital Raleigh alone has 485,679 inhabitants.

Like Jefferson City, Raleigh (designated the capital in 1792) was also planned and built to be the capital city. Charlotte has approximately 842,051 residents.

The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. 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 feet (91 m) in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet (460 m) in the west. 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, and Black Mountains. The Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m), the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins. The five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder 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 border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar–Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, with the mountain area being coolest year-round. The climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, where temperatures only occasionally drop below the freezing point at night. The coastal plain averages around 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all.