Put your seatbelts on!

We’re going to explore North Carolina!

Stacy DarwinEDCI 5401-OL1

Interactive PowerPoint

Source: http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/fko/booklet/index.htm

North Carolina is divided into 3 regions.Click on the links below to learn more!

Appalachian Mountain Piedmont

PlateauCoastal

Plain

Appalachian Mountain Region

Photo source: http://ncpedia.org/geography/region/mountains

Appalachian Mountain Region

Geography and Landforms• The western part of the state is the Mountain region.

It is smaller in area that the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.

• The Blue Ridge Mountains separate the Piedmont from the Mountain region and run parallel to the coastline.

• The elevation of this region is more than one mile above sea level.

• North Carolina has at least 40 mountains that rise to 6,000 feet.

• Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountain range is 6, 684 feet high. This is the highest point in North Carolina and the highest in the United States east of the Mississippi River.

• Other ranges in the Mountain region include the Bald, Balsam, Black, Brushy, Great Smoky, Iron, Pisgah, Stone, and Unaka.

• Miners mine mica, feldspar, and ultra-pure quartz from this region.

• Gems such as emeralds, rubies, garnets, amethyst and sapphires can also be found in these mountains.

• Rain and mountain terrain have created 250 incredible waterfalls in this region.

Appalachian Mountain Region

Geography and Landforms

Appalachian Mountain Region

Major Cities• Ashville is the largest city in the Mountain region

with a population of about 84,000 people.

• Other notable cities include: Boone, Hendersonville, and Murphy.

• This is the least populated of the three North Carolina regions.

Appalachian Mountain RegionClimate

• Average mean temperature is 54.1° Fahrenheit with 35.4° in January and 71.7° in July.

• Rainfall varies widely in the area, between 35 and 90 inches a year.

• Snow is common in this region during the winter months with some areas getting up to 50 inches per year.

Piedmont Plateau Region

Photo sources: http://ncpedia.org/geography/region/piedmonthttp://grb.physics.ncsu.edu/GRB_2011/WEB/raleigh.html

Piedmont Plateau RegionGeography and

Landforms• The Piedmont is located between the Mountain

region and the Coastal Region.

• Piedmont is a French word meaning “foot of the mountain.”

• The Piedmont plateau covers about 40% of the state.

• The soil of the Piedmont is a bright, red clay.

• The elevations of this region range from about 300 feet in the western Coastal Plain to about 1,500 feet near the mountains.

Piedmont Plateau RegionGeography and

Landforms• This region contains the state’s largest cities.

• Most lakes in this area are manmade by damning rivers.

• The Piedmont marks the beginning of several major rivers including the Cape Fear, Roanoke, Neuse, and the Tar-Pamlico. These rivers flow south and southeast to the Atlantic ocean.

Piedmont Plateau RegionMajor Cities

Major Piedmont cities and their populations:Name Population

Charlotte 731,424

Raleigh 403,892

Greensboro 269,666

Winston-Salem 229,617

Durham 228,330

Cary 135,234

Piedmont Plateau RegionClimate

• Average mean temperature is 60.2° Fahrenheit with 41.2° in January and 78.4° in July.

• Rainfall varies widely in the area, between 35 and 90 inches a year.

• Snow is less common in this region during the winter months. The average amount is less than 9 inches per year.

Coastal Plain Region

Photo sources: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/cede_wetlands/

Coastal Plain RegionGeography and

Landforms• The Coastal Plain is low and flat compared to the

Piedmont’s rolling hills and the tall mountains to the west.

• Rivers run much slower toward the Atlantic Ocean on this flat land.

• The soil ranges from sandy and sandy loam to peat (partly decayed plant matter).

• This region is often divided into two parts: Outer Coastal Plain and the Inner Coastal Plain.

Coastal Plain RegionOUTER COASTAL PLAIN

• The Outer Coastal Plain is made up of the Outer Banks and the Tidewater region.

• The Outer Banks are a string of barrier islands including Bodie, Hatteras, Ocracoke, Portsmouth, and the Core Banks. The Outer Banks has three capes -- Cape

Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear. The Outer Banks stretch more than 175 miles along the coast.• The Tidewater is the area along the coast

close to sea level where the major streams and rivers begin to empty into the ocean. This region has many low-lying areas called wetlands, where water covers the land.

Coastal Plain RegionINNER COASTAL PLAIN

• The Inner Coastal Plain, a higher, drier area, begins west of the Tidewater. The rich, sandy soil here is some of the state's best farmland.

Coastal Plain RegionMajor Cities

Major Piedmont cities and their populations:

CityPopulatio

nElizabeth City 18,683Greenville 84,554Rocky Mount 57,477

Fayetteville 200,564

Wilmington 106,476

Coastal Plain RegionClimate

• Average mean temperature is 61.1° Fahrenheit with 46.5° in January and 79.1° in July.

• Rainfall varies in the area, between 40 and 55 inches a year.

• Snow is rare in this region during the winter months.

What About the People?

First Settlers of North Carolina

Native Americans• At least 30 different tribes made up the

present-day North Carolina about 400 years ago.

• These 35,000 Native Americans are known today ad the Indians of the Eastern Woodlands.

• They are grouped by their language families: Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan.

• They lived in the three regions of North Carolina.

Native Americans of the Coastal Plain

• These tribes spoke the Algonquian language.

• Algonquian villages were built on the banks of rivers or streams. Their villages had ten to thirty shelters in them.

• They farmed and fished.

• The beaded gifts they gave were called wampum.

• The villages had governments with leaders to settle disagreements.

Native Americans of the Piedmont

• These tribes were called the Catawbas and the Tutelos and they spoke the Siouan languages.

• They were also farmers and farmed corn, squash, peas, melons, and tobacco.

• They had democratic governments which had councils and advisers to help leaders make decisions.

Native Americans of the Mountains

• These tribes were the Tuscaroras and the Cherokees which were Iroquoian speakers.

• They grew corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, and tobacco. They also gathered wild plants and hunted.

• Cherokee villages had as many as 400 houses in there.

• Cherokee villages had chiefs and were part of a larger Cherokee confederation.

Early European Settlers

Many European settlers came directly from Europe or through other states to settle North Carolina. Some came for economic reasons. Freedom and choice in religion was a driving force for many of these settlers.North Carolina became host to members of the Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, Moravian, Methodist, and other Protestant churches.

Coastal Settlements• Europeans arrived by ship and began

settling on the coastal regions of North Carolina during the 1500s.

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke was the first such colony.

• Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in North America. It was built near the Chesapeake Bay in what is now Virgina.

• These settlers began growing and exporting tobacco.

Piedmont Settlements• By the 1700s, colonists were starting to

push westward into the backcountry.

• Scotch-Irish immigrants relocated from Pennsylvania to the Piedmont. Many of them were Presbyterians.

• The religious German immigrant group called Moravians also relocated from Pennsylvania. They built a large community in Salem, NC. They became well-known for their fine goods.

• In 1972, the capital was located in Raleigh because of its central location in the Piedmont.

Mountain Settlements• By the 1800s, pioneers were beginning to

settle the mountainous areas of North Carolina.

• At this time, the North Carolina colony stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. These far western lands would later become Tennessee in 1789.

• Settlers in this area had to be very self-sufficient because there were few roads and families were very spread out over the land.

• The railroads brought growth (tourism, educational opportunities, banking, etc.) to areas near Asheville.

Coastal Settlements• Europeans arrived by ship and began

settling on the coastal regions of North Carolina during the 1500s.

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke was the first such colony.

• Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in North America. It was built near the Chesapeake Bay in what is now Virginia.

• These settlers began growing and exporting tobacco.

Now, let’s see how much YOU

know about North Carolina!

Read each question carefully. Click on the

best answer. If you hear chimes, you got it right!

If you hear a bomb sound, try again. Good

luck!

Which region is the located in the far westernmost part of the state?

COASTAL

PIEDMONT BASIN

MOUNTAIN

NEXT QUESTION

Which religion was not represented in the early settlers of

North Carolina?

PRESBITARIAN

METHODIST MORAVIAN

MUSLIM

NEXT QUESTION

In which region is Raleigh located?

COASTALPIEDMONT MOUNTAIN

NEXT QUESTION

Which is our state flag?

NEXT QUESTION

Most North Carolinians live in the Piedmont region.

FALSE

TRUE

NEXT QUESTION

Which region has the lowest elevations?

COASTALPIEDMONT MOUNTAIN

NEXT QUESTION

Mount Mitchell is in the Piedmont region.

FALSE

TRUE

NEXT QUESTION

There are many waterfalls in which region?

COASTALPIEDMONT MOUNTAIN

LAST QUESTION! Now check out some NC books from the media center!

Much the information above was found in these books. Click on the links below to check out these North Carolina books in

our media center!

North Carolinaby

Martin Hintz and Stephen

Hintz

T is for Tar Heel : a North Carolina alphabet

Carol Crane

North Carolina

Schulz, Andrea

North Carolina : portrait of the land and its people

John Rucker

North Carolina Sheila Turnage

Web Sources

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/20geography

http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/geog.htm

CLIMATE INFORMATIONhttp://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climate/ncclimate.html

CURRICULUM INFORMATION

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/20geography#location

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/21recreation

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/19people#populations

In addition to the books mentioned earlier, facts about North Carolina were also found on these reliable websites.

Links to NC STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY

Competency Goal 1

The learner will apply the five themes of geography to North Carolina and its people.

  Objectives1.01 Locate, in absolute and relative terms, major landforms, bodies of water and natural resources in North Carolina.1.02 Describe and compare physical and cultural characteristics of the regions.1.03 Suggest some influences that location has on life in North Carolina such as major cities, recreation areas, industry, and farms.

Competency Goal 3 The learner will trace the history of colonization in North Carolina

and evaluate its significance for diverse people's ideas.  Objectives

3.01 Assess changes in ways of living over time and determine whether the changes are primarily political, economic, or social.