1. E.Q. How can geographical conditions cause problems?

2.  It is a specific area where the “lay of the land” and the habits of the people are much the same.  For example, in flat regions like the tidewater and coastal plains, people adapted by farming and raising livestock like cattle and pigs.

3.  They are inland bodies of mixed water from both salt and fresh water. NC has 5 of them.  Some wildlife like sharks and alligators can survive in this mixed water for a short while.  Long exposures to this mix can prove fatal to most species.  It is not uncommon to hear of bull sharks and alligators coming in contact with humans in these waters.

4.  It is where ocean sand is in a low place and allows the sea water to come in and out with the tide.  These areas change with sea conditions.  For example the Roanoke Inlet where early explorers came into the NC shoreline was forever changed by a hurricane.  Now ships come through to NC shores via the Oregon Inlet carved out in 1846 after a massive hurricane.

5.  In the Tidewater region, a portion of land remains wet for most of a year, flooded or soaked with water.  Along the shore, salt marshes are found which provide NC and the World with shellfish.

6.  It is an incubator of sorts within a wetland where shrimp and other shellfish breed and live.  There are similar incubators in fresh water as well.  These are something entirely different.

7.  The word is an Indian word that means a “swamp on a hill”.  These areas have vegetation all around them.  Oaks, laurel, and bay trees help make up the areas.  Alligator pocosin is the largest are like this near the town of Washington, NC.  Estuaries do not contain pure fresh water or vegetation.

8.  It is found in areas where you would find a pocosin but, it contains tall grasslands within its trees.  These unique areas are home to plants that only can survive in the wild here.  The Venus Fly Trap thrives here because of the natural supply of flying and crawling insects that live there.

9.  Crossroad hamlets are small towns that dot the region for people that cannot afford or make it to the larger towns in the area.  Tobacco towns are where communities have grown from the tobacco industry.  Some towns like Greenville, Wilson, Goldsboro, and yes Tobaccoville contain many warehouses for tobacco farmers.

10.  Scientists do not exactly agree on how or why they exist but Carolina Bays are depressions along the ground.  Some like White Lake are filled with water.  Some look like pocosins during a rainy stretch and dry out during the warmer months.  Scientists do agree that these are some of the best habitats for animals and rich soil.

11.  The Sandhills found here have very poor soil for certain types of farming but are great for golf courses.  Tobacco became an early cash crop and as a result, a mix of both white and black Americans settled here.  Now migrant workers from other countries have moved here to work the land.

12.  The piedmont is always in a state of change.  Dairy farming has fallen off in recent years.  Sectionalism has resulted here where local concerns weigh heavier than state or national ones.  Manufacturing created mill villages, housing clusters, like some suburbs in Winston-Salem around textile and tobacco plants.

13.  Stock car racing grew into a national phenomenon from dirt tracks near piedmont communities.  Charlotte now uses its massive banking resources to fund many NASCAR teams.  It is also home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  Many of its legendary drivers both past and present were home-grown in the piedmont region.

14.  In the piedmont, a cluster of small mountains are scattered through the mid-section of NC.  The mountains are actually older than the neighboring Appalachian Mountains in the mountain region.  They were home to the Keyauwee tribe.  Some “experts” try to claim the Saura Mountains like Pilot Mountain as part of this chain but Mr. Wyatt says “they are wrong.”

15.  Oddly enough, Mayberry, a fictional town popularized by TV’s The Andy Griffith Show claims its home in the Piedmont.  Just some 20 miles north of Pilot Mountain in Surry County is the boyhood home of Andy Griffith also TV’s Matlock.  The city of Mount Airy has adopted its fictional counterpart as its own.  Many festivals are connected with the show.

16.  Coves are valleys where streams and rivers carved out spaces wide enough for farming.  Some like Vallis Crucis, near the town of Boone, home to Appalachian State University, is home to one of the biggest areas for growing Ginseng, a popular herb that is rumored to have many health benefits.  Many liberal arts colleges like Mars Hill grew from strong churches in the region.

17.  Yes, you are finished.  Most of these terms will be mixed in with your test on Wednesday and may stretch into Thursday.  Tuesday you will have DARE class.  Be prepared to study your map, terms, borders, and region questions Tuesday night.  Remember, if you “miss” Tuesday’s test, no problem, you’ll just take it first thing when you return.