North Carolina Regions

Three Regions• land is result of erosion by water• Elevation in the east begins @ sea level and

rises as you travel west• Mt. Mitchell is the highest point in NC and

eastern US• NC is divided into 3 physical regions

The Coastal Plain• 45% of state• Coast to fall line– where

rivers drop into rapids from higher elevations

• Flat area with thin layer of sand and clay

• Two largest port cities are Wilmington and Morehead City

Coastal Plain cont.

• Divided into two areas• The Outer Banks –barrier

islands, beaches, dunes, sounds, swamps– Cape Hatteras, Cape

Lookout & Cape Fear– Sounds –shallow water

between main land and islands, brackish water (fresh & salt)

– Inlets—where ocean flows between islands, strong currents

Coastal Plain cont.

• Tidewater– west of outer banks, slightly higher, sandhills

• Golf courses, peach orchards, horse farms• Tobacco, soybeans, and peanuts

The Piedmont • Rolling land, 45% of state

• What is left of very old mountains (erosion)

• Furniture, textiles, tobacco

• Many rivers provide hydroelectric power

• Largest population center– Raleigh, Durham, W-S, GBoro, Charlotte

The Mountains

• Two ranges w/ plateau in middle

• Blue Ridge and the Smokies

• Heavily forested, dairy farming, apples, Christmas trees

• Eastern continental divide– rivers east flow to Atlantic, west go to Gulf of Mexico

Mountains cont.

• Tourism- Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail

Waterways in NC

• Most rivers begin in mountains or piedmont

• Only one goes directly to Atlantic (Cape Fear), most empty into sounds

• Most lakes are man-made, largest are Fontana, Norman, and Gaston

Climate in NC

• Climate– temperature and precipitation over long period of time

• Long growing season- period of time from last frost to first frost

• More snow in mountains (elevation and rain shadow)

• More rain in coastal plain