1. Geography of North Carolina
Chapter 1
Geography of North Carolina

2. How did geography impact the settlement of North Carolina and its regions?

3. Geography
Geography is the study of the physical features of the Earth.
Geography also studies humans and how they are affected by their environment, and how they affect their environment.

4. Location
North Carolina is located in the southeast of the United States, and is bordered by:
The Atlantic Ocean
Virginia,
South Carolina,
Georgia,
Tennessee, and

5. Regions of the State
Coastal Plain
Piedmont
Mountains

6. Coastal Plain

7. The Tidewater

8. Tidewater
The Tidewater receives its name from the fact that the tide rises and falls on its rivers and sounds.
Along the coast of the Tidewater, are barrier islands known as the Outer Banks.
Parts of these islands are capes.
Three (3) capes located in North Carolina are:
Cape Fear
Cape Lookout
Cape Hatteras

9. “The Graveyard of the Atlantic,”
Tidewater
Waters near the capes are shallow, because ocean currents deposit sand on the ocean bottom.
The area near Cape Hatteras is known as:
“The Graveyard of the Atlantic,”
because so many ships have run aground.

10. Inner Coastal Plain The main agricultural region.
Tobacco is the main crop.
Other crops grown in this region include:
Corn Peanuts Vegetables Wheat
Fruit Cotton

11. Piedmont

12. Piedmont The center of urban population and manufacturing for N.C.
The largest cities of North Carolina are found in the Piedmont.
These cities are:
Charlotte,
Durham,
Greensboro,
Raleigh, and
Winston-Salem

13. Piedmont
Before 1849, North Carolina was the leading gold producing state in the nation.

14. Mountains

15. Mountains Last region to be settled.
Mount Mitchell in Yancey County is the highest peak in the eastern United States.
North Carolina’s only Indian reservation is located at Cherokee.
Appalachian Trail runs through N.C. from Georgia to Maine.

16. Waterways

17. Atlantic Ocean The largest body of water bordering North Carolina.
Used by ships to bring settlers to N.C., and served as a trade route.
There are 2 main ports:
Wilmington
Morehead City
There are 2 great currents:
Labrador Current
Gulf Stream

18. Sounds
Sounds: shallow bodies of water between the Outer Banks and the mainland.
There are 5 sounds in North Carolina.
Albemarle
Bogue
Core
Currituck
Pamlico

19. Rivers
The Cape Fear River is the only river that flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean.

20. Lakes Lake Mattamuskeet is one of the largest lakes in North Carolina.
Most of the lakes in North Carolina are man-made.
The 3 largest man-made lakes are:
Fontana Lake,
Lake Norman, and
Lake Gaston

21. What are characteristics of North Carolina’s climate?

22. The climate of North Carolina is humid and subtropical.

23. Windstorms North Carolina experiences 3 types of windstorms:
A storm becomes a hurricane when winds measure more than 74 mph.
Thunderstorms
Hurricanes
Tornadoes

24. Natural Resources
Longleaf pines influenced the development of North Carolina.
They were used to produce:
Turpentine,
Rosin,
Tar, and
Pitch
which were important to foreign trade.

25. How People Affect Geography
DDT, which was used to kill insects, has wiped out nearly all of North Carolina’s wildlife.
Sources of water pollution:
Wastes from sewers
Chemicals
Sources of air pollution:
cars
factories