Citizendia
Your Ad Here

The Geography of North Carolina, a state of the United States, falls naturally into three divisions or sections -- the Appalachian Mountains formed mostly by the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, the Middle or Piedmont Plateau, and the Eastern or Tidewater section, also known as the Coastal Plain. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. The Blue Ridge, or Blue Ridge Mountains, is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division The Great Smoky Mountains are a major Mountain range in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains, the second ridge line forming a north-south running mountain Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching The Atlantic Coastal Plain is the flat stretch of land that borders the Atlantic Ocean (including the Gulf of Mexico) North Carolina covers 53,821 square miles (139,396 km²) and is 560 miles (900 km) long by 150 miles (240 km) wide. The physical characteristics of the state can be pictured as a surface spread out upon a vast declivity, sloping down from the summits of the Smoky Mountains, an altitude of near seven thousand feet, to the ocean level.

Contents

Blue Ridge/Appalachian mountains

The Western North Carolina mountains as seen from Sunset Rock in Highlands, North Carolina.
The Western North Carolina mountains as seen from Sunset Rock in Highlands, North Carolina. A mountain is a Landform that extends above the surrounding Terrain in a limited area with a peak Highlands is an incorporated Town in Jackson and Macon counties in the U

The mountains of North Carolina may be conveniently classed as four separate chains:

Each of these mountain ranges is marked by distinct characteristics. The Smoky Mountain chain (as contrasted with the Blue Ridge) is more continuous, more elevated, more regular in its direction and height, and rises very uniformly from 5000 to 6,621 feet (2,018. 1 m).

The Blue Ridge is composed of many fragments scarcely connected into a continuous and regular chain. Its higher summits range from 5000 to nearly 6,700 feet (2,040 m), however, its average elevation is from 3000 to 4,000 feet (1,200 m). The eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge rise sharply from 1500 to 4,500 feet (1,370 m) above the terrain to the east; to observers they often appear as a vast, lofty wall running across the state's western horizon. The Brushy Mountain range presents, throughout the greater part of its course, a remarkable uniformity in direction and elevation, many of its peaks rising above 2,000 feet (600 m), and a few rising above 2,500 feet (760 m). The last, the Uwharrie range, sometimes presents a succession of elevated ridges, then a number of bold and isolated knobs, which often appear higher than they actually are, due to the relative flatness of the surrounding terrain.

The mountain section consists of the tallest peaks east of the Rocky Mountains. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. The tallest of the Appalachian Mountains is Mount Mitchell. Mount Mitchell is also the tallest point east of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The section enclosed within these limits is in shape somewhat like an ellipse. In Mathematics, an ellipse (from the Greek ἔλλειψις literally absence) is a Conic section, the locus of points in a Its length is about one hundred and eighty miles; its average breadth from twenty to fifty miles. It is a high plateau, from the plane of which several high mountains rise, including the Roan, the Grandfather, and the Black. In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting Roan Mountain is the highpoint of the Roan-Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States Between the mountains are scenic fertile valleys, plentifully watered by streams. In Geology, a valley (also called a vale, dale, glen or strath and near or in Appalachia, a draw) is A stream is a body of Water with a current, confined within a bed and stream-banks The mountains themselves are heavily forested and often feature thick underbrush, except a few which have prairies on their summits, locally distinguished as "balds. Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a Forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or forest canopy. "

Piedmont Plateau

The major socioeconomic regions of North Carolina and their approximate areas.
The major socioeconomic regions of North Carolina and their approximate areas.

The Piedmont plateau, a succession of hills and dales, forms the central portion of the state. In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting In Geology, a valley (also called a vale, dale, glen or strath and near or in Appalachia, a draw) is It is the remnants of high mountains that have been worn down "to the roots. Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind " The Piedmont consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills and valleys formed by rivers and streams. The plateau ranges from 200-300 feet elevation in the east to over 1000 feet elevation in the west. The terrain tends to consist of thin, stony clay-based soils over granitic gneiss and other metamorphic rocks. Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. Gneiss (ˈnaɪs is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally At the eastern margin of the piedmont are sandy hills which represent an old ocean shoreline and its beaches and dunes. The well drained soils of this region are known for peaches and melons. The peach ( Prunus persica) is a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach Watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ( Thunb) Matsum & Nakai family Cucurbitaceae) refers to both Fruit and Plant of a vine-like (climber Like the mountains, the Piedmont has historically consisted of thick forests with dense underbrush, with occasional fields of wild grass or hay. Hay is a generic term for grass or Legumes that have been cut dried and stored for use as animal feed, particularly for grazing animals like With the advent of large-scale agriculture in the 1800s, the forests of the Piedmont were cleared in many areas and replaced with croplands and grazing fields for livestock. Since the 1970s the rapid urbanization and suburbanization of the Piedmont has led to forests and farmland being transformed into large shopping centers, housing developments, and other modern facilities. Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing Suburbanization (or suburbanisation) is a term used to describe the process of population movement from within towns and cities to the rural-urban fringe

Coastal Plain

The Coastal Plain is the largest geographic area of the state, and covers roughly 45% of North Carolina. The Coastal Plain begins along the fall line, a line of hills which stretch from the Sandhills region along the South Carolina border, through Fayetteville, then Raleigh, and finally through Henderson, North Carolina near the Virginia border. In Geomorphology, a fall line (at times referred to as a fall zone) marks the area where an upland region (continental Bedrock) and a Coastal plain Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Raleigh (pronounced rah-lee) is the Capital of the State of North Carolina and the county seat of Wake County, USA Henderson is a city in Vance County, North Carolina, United States. The fall line marks where the Piedmont plateau drops down to the coastal plain; it also where waterfalls begin to appear on streams and rivers in the state. A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water often in the form of a Stream, flowing over an Erosion -resistant rock The hills of the fall line drop 150-350 feet in an eastward direction; while noticeable, the drop is quite gradual and occurs over a width of 1-3 miles. East of the fall line the coastal plain is relatively flat, with sandy soils ideal for growing tobacco, cotton, soybeans, and melons. The rivers of the coastal plain are much wider and deeper than those of the Piedmont or mountains, and flow more slowly. The coastal plain encompasses the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States; Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south. In Geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean Inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, wider than a Fjord Albemarle Sound is a large Estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers including the Pamlico Sound (PAM-lik-o in North Carolina, is the largest Lagoon along the U Pamlico Sound is larger than the State of Connecticut. Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The coastal plain is covered by thick forests of pines and other evergreens; due to the sandy soils it is difficult for many decidious trees to grow. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including The easternmost portion of the state contains the Outer Banks, sandy islands that do not have coral reefs to attach to and thus are constantly shifting their locations. The Outer Banks is a 200-mile (320-km long string of narrow Barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, on the east coast of the United States. In nautical terminology a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water (six fathoms or less at low water The Outer Banks are known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because numerous ships have been wrecked along their beaches and shoals due to storms and strong tides. The Coastal Plain is host to three capes: Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear. Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the furthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the This article is about the Cape Lookout in North Carolina See Cape Lookout for other places with a similar name See also Geography of North Carolina Despite the fact that North Carolina has hundreds of miles of beachfront territory, due to the Outer Banks and swampland along the coast the state lacks a good natural harbor. As such North Carolina never developed a major port city as did neighboring states such as Georgia (Savannah), South Carolina (Charleston), and Virginia (Norfolk). Wilmington, located 15 miles (24 km) up the Cape Fear River, remains the state's only major port; the river often has to be dredged to keep it open to large merchant ships. The Cape Fear River is a long Blackwater river in east central North Carolina in the United States.

Agriculture

The cultivated productions of the Mountain section are sweetcorn, wheat, oats, barley, hay, tobacco, fruits and vegetables. Sweet corn ( Zea mays var rugosa) also called indian corn, sweetcorn, sugar corn, pole corn, or simply corn Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Oats redirects here It may mean either the common cereal oat discussed here or any cultivated or wild species of the Genus Avena. Barley ( Hordeum vulgare) is an annual Cereal Grain, which serves as a major animal Feed crop, with smaller amounts used for Hay is a generic term for grass or Legumes that have been cut dried and stored for use as animal feed, particularly for grazing animals like Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The term " vegetable " generally means the edible parts of Plants The definition of the word is traditional rather than Scientific, however Cattle are also reared quite extensively for market, and large numbers of chickens are raised for market in the northwestern mountains and foothills. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The chicken ( Gallus gallus, sometimes G gallus domesticus) is a domesticated Fowl which is traditionally believed to have descended from A prominent new industry in the mountains is the raising and selling of Christmas Trees. A Christmas tree, Yule tree, holiday tree or Tannenbaum (fir tree is one of the most popular Traditions associated with the celebration In the Piedmont region of central North Carolina are found all the products of the mountains, although over the southern half cotton appears as the staple product. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp In the deep, loamy soils of the coastal region, cotton, corn, and oats are the staple crops, and truck farming (growing fruits and vegetables for northern markets), constitutes a flourishing industry. "Market garden" redirects here For the World War II operation see Operation Market Garden. Formerly longleaf pine forests produced tar, pitch and turpentine, and more recently lumber. The 'Longleaf Pine' ( Pinus palustris) is a Pine native to the southeast United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Little old growth longleaf area is left; much has been replanted in loblolly pine, which is used for paper pulp, plywood, and lumber. Pinus taeda ( Loblolly Pine) is one of several Pines native to the southeastern United States. Paper pulp is a Material for making Paper. It is usually Cellulose fibre, and could be Wood pulp or Non-wood pulp See Plywood is a type of Engineered board made from thin sheets of Wood, called plies or veneers Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or Four of the grape varieties of America are native to North Carolina; the Catawba, Isabella, Lincoln, and Scuppernong. Catawba grapes were introduced to Wine -growers in the 1800s by Major John Adlum of Georgetown, D The Isabella grape is a Cultivar derived from the Grape species Vitis Labrusca or 'fox grape' which is used for table juice and wine A scuppernong (also called "scuppernine" or "suscadine" in parts of Georgia is a large type of Muscadine, a type of Grape native to the

River systems

There are three distinct systems of rivers in the state: those that find their way to the Gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi, those that flow through South Carolina to the sea and those that reach the sea along the North Carolina coast. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. The divide between the first and the second is the Blue Ridge chain of mountains; that between the second and third systems is found in an elevation extending from the Blue Ridge, near the Virginia line, just between the sources of the Yadkin and the Roanoke, in a south-easterly direction some two hundred miles, almost to the sea-coast below Wilmington. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state Yadkin may refer to Yadkin County North Carolina Yadkin River Wilmington is a city in and the County seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. In the divide between the first and second systems, which is also the great watershed between the Atlantic slope and the Mississippi Valley, a singular anomaly is presented, for it is formed not by the lofty Smoky range, but by the Blue Ridge -- not, therefore, at the crest of the great slope which the surface of the state presents, but on a line lower down. On the western flank of this lower range the French Broad and the other rivers of the first section, including the headwaters of the Great Khanawha, have their rise. The French Broad River flows from near Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee. In their course through the Smoky Mountains to the Mississippi they pass along chasms or "gaps" from three thousand to four thousand feet in depth. These chasms or "gaps" are more than a thousand feet lower than those of the corresponding parts of the Blue Ridge.

The rivers of the second system rise on the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge. These rivers -- the Catawba and the Yadkin, with their tributaries stretching from the Broad River, near the mountains in the west, to the Lumber near the seacoast -- water some thirty counties in the state, a fan-shaped territory, embracing much the greater portion of the Piedmont section of the state, thence passing into South Carolina before reaching the seacoast.

The rivers of the third system are the Chowan, the Roanoke, the Tar, the Neuse and the Cape Fear, which were important travel routes prior to the development of the railroads, being navigable some for fifty and others to near one hundred miles for boats of light draught. The Tar River is a River that is approximately 346 kilometers (215 miles long of northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an Estuary of Neuse may refer to following all in North Carolina: Neuse North Carolina Neuse River Neuse Township Wake County The Cape Fear River is a long Blackwater river in east central North Carolina in the United States. Of these the last three have their rise near the northern boundary of the state, in a comparatively small area, near the eastern source of the Yadkin. The Chowan has its rise in Virginia, below Appomattox Court House. The principal sources of the Roanoke, also, are in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge, though some of its head streams are in North Carolina, and very near those of the Yadkin. Only one of these rivers, the Cape Fear, flows directly into the ocean in this state; the others, after reaching the low country, move on with diminished current and empty into large bodies of water known as sounds. The Yadkin is extensively dammed for hydroelectric power and flood control. Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by Hydropower, ie the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water Below the last dam, just before flowing into South Carolina it is renamed the Pee Dee River. South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a River in North Carolina and South Carolina.

The rivers of these three systems, with their tributaries afford a generous water supply. Flat lands border the streams, mostly forested with hardwoods and cypress. In their course from the high plateaus to the low country all the rivers of the state have a descent of many hundred feet, made by frequent falls and rapids. These falls and rapids afford all unlimited motive power for machinery of every description; and here many cotton mills and other factories were established from colonial times, and gave rise to many of the cities and towns.

The sounds, and the rivers which empty into them, constitute a network of waterway for steam and sailing vessels of eleven hundred miles. They are separated from the ocean by a line of sand banks, varying in breadth from one hundred yards to two miles, and in height from a few feet above the tide level to twenty-five or thirty feet, on which horses of a small breed, called "Bank Ponies," are reared in great numbers, and in a half wild state. These banks extend along the entire shore a distance of three hundred miles. Through them there are a number of inlets from the sea to the sounds, but they are usually too shallow except for vessels of light burden. Along its northern coast the seagoing commerce of the state has, in consequence, been restricted; Beaufort Harbor and the Cape Fear River, however, furnish excellent ports.

The sounds, and the rivers in their lower courses, abound with fish and waterfowl. They riversides are favorite sites for hunters of canvas-back ducks and other waterfowl. Fishermen visit for herring, shad and rock-fishing, especially along Albemarle Sound.

See also:

Climate

The climate of North Carolina is mild and equable. This is a list of Rivers in the US state of North Carolina. By Drainage Basin This list is arranged by drainage basin with Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of This is due in part to its geographical position; midway in the northern hemisphere. Also the high Appalachian chain offers, to some extent, a shield from cold winter winds of the northwest. On the ocean side, in winter, is the moderating influence of the warm Gulf Stream, the current of which sweeps along near its shores. The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that

The result of these combined causes is shown in the character of the seasons. Fogs are frequent, especially during the summer; frosts occur not until the middle of October; ice forms on raised surfaces at least once a winter; snows are frequently light, seldom remaining on the ground more than two or three days, except in the higher elevations. Fog is a cloud that is in contact with the ground Stratus clouds are usually the only clouds that touch the ground Ice is a Solid phase, usually crystalline, of a Non-metalic substance that is liquid or gas at Room temperature, such as Ammonia "Snowfall" redirects here For other uses see Snow (disambiguation or Snowfall (disambiguation. The average rainfall is about fifty-three inches, which is pretty uniformly distributed throughout the year. Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to

References

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic