Geography of North Carolina

North Carolina [ nɔ ː ɹθ ˌ kæɹəlaɪnə ] is a village on the Atlantic coast of the state in the southeastern United States. The state is bordered on the south by South Carolina and Georgia, to the west by Tennessee and to the north by Virginia. The geography of North Carolina is determined by the three regions of the country, the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau and the mountainous region.

Location and extent

North Carolina is located on the southeast coast of the United States, bordering the states of South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. The state extends between 34 ° and 36 ° 21 'north latitude and 75 ° 30' to 84 ° 15 ' east longitude, its extension in east-west direction so that is measured about 800 kilometers from north to south over 240 km.

Regions

Geographically, North Carolina can be from east to west are divided into three main parts: the coastal plain of the Atlantic, the Piedmont Plateau and the Appalachian mountain region of. The highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains, Mount Mitchell ( 2037 m), is located in North Carolina.

Coastal region

About two-thirds of the state are taken from the Atlantic coastal plain. The coastal plain is bounded on the west by the falling zone (Eng. Waterfall area ); there falls the Piedmont Plateau relatively steeply to the coastal region and the springing back from the Appalachian rivers of the state include rapids and waterfalls here. The drop zone runs along a ridge from the border with South Carolina by Fayetteville, Raleigh, and finally by Henderson on the border with Virginia. The hills drop down to 90 meters to the coastal plain from back.

East of this line, the coastal plain is very flat with sandy soils. Here grow dense forests, mostly pine and other evergreen trees. The soils are ideal for growing tobacco, soybeans, melons, and cotton. This region, which includes the Inner Banks is the most rural North Carolina, with only a few major cities and towns. The rivers, Neuse River, Tar River, Pamlico River, and the Cape Fear River to flow slowly and broaden with deep river beds in the plane.

To the coastal plain includes the holdings situated in the extreme east of the Outer Banks, a chain of extremely narrow sandy islands that forms a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and the inland cities and waterways. The Banks do not have coral reefs and are therefore variable in their position. The Outer Banks form two great straits, the Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south, whose area exceeds that of the state of Connecticut. These two Sunde form the biggest connected to the mainland straits of the United States. The Outer Banks are also called " Graveyard of the Atlantic " because of the many accidents and the grounded ships off this stretch of coast. On one of the islands of the Outer Banks is the most south-eastern point of the east coast of the United States, Cape Hatteras. More headlands are Cape Lookout and Cape Fear

Although North Carolina has hundreds of kilometers of coastline, there is a lack due to the offshore islands and the marsh to a suitable natural harbor, so was able to develop a major port city in North Carolina never, as in the neighboring states of Georgia ( Savannah ), Virginia (Norfolk ) and South Carolina ( Charleston ) was the case. Wilmington, which is approximately 25 kilometers inland on the Cape Fear River, is the only major port in the state. The Cape Fear River often needs to be dredged to allow larger commercial vessels the passage.

Piedmont plateau

About two -fifths of the area is occupied by the North Carolina Piedmont Plateau, which adjoins to the west of the coastal plain. The transition between the low-lying coastal region and the Piedmont case marks the zone, which describes the difference in height, to the rivers for the first time to train waterfalls. The Piedmont region in the center of the state is the most urbanized and densely populated region of North Carolina. The Piedmont is a hilly landscape that is frequently interrupted by smaller foothills of the mountains and through valleys carved by rivers and is the result of almost completely eroded remnants of higher mountains. In Piedmont there are some smaller, isolated and heavily eroded mountain peaks and mountain ranges, including the Sauratown Mountains, the Pilot Mountain, the Uwharrie Mountains, Crowder 's Mountain, King's Pinnacle, and the South Mountains. The height of the Piedmont ranges from about 90 meters to the west up to 300 meters above sea level in the east. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the Yadkin River and the Catawba River, flowing rather quickly in narrow and shallow, interspersed with shoals riverbeds.

The soils consist mainly of thin stony layers on Lehmbasis that have been deposited on layers of gneiss granite and other metamorphic rocks. At the eastern edge of the plateau, there are sandy hills that mark a former coastline with its dunes and beaches. In the thoroughly moistened soils mainly grow peaches and melons, for which the region is known

As in the mountainous region of the state was the growth of the Piedmont mostly from dark forests with dense undergrowth, interrupted by large grassy clearings. With the expansion of agriculture in the 18th century large areas of forests were cleared and replaced by fields and pastures. Was a result of the rapidly since the 1970s, progressive urbanization of the countryside and agriculture is largely suppressed and gives way to a suburban structure.

Mountain region

The mountain range of the Appalachians forms the western border of the state. The mountains in the area of North Carolina can be divided into four mountain ranges:

• The Great Smoky Mountains, which are also referred to as the Smokies, form the western border of the state and is the second highest mountain range in North Carolina. The highest point in the Smokies in North Carolina is Mount Guyot with a height of 2018 meters above sea level.
• The Blue Ridge Mountains are the largest mountain range in North Carolina and running in a tortuous course through the west of the state with occasional high foothills of the surrounding terrain. The Black Mountains, which are part of the Blue Ridge, form the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains, the highest of which, Mount Mitchell, rises in North Carolina in 2037 meters high above sea level and is the highest point east of the Mississippi.
• The Brushy Mountains are a much smaller and lower mountain range is located entirely within the state borders. This mountain group is often called the Brushies and separates in its course the river beds of the Catawaba River and the Yadkin River. The course of the Brushy Mountains begins with the collection of Hibriten Mountain in Caldwell County and ends with the Pilot Mountain and the Sauratown Mountains in Stokes County. The highest peak of Brushies is the Pores Knob 817 meters above the sea.
• The Uwharrie Mountains, named after one of the former residents of the region, Indian tribes, are the easternmost and oldest and lowest mountain range in North Carolina. The Uwharries begin in Montgomery County and run in the hills of Person County from. The highest peak of this mountain range is High Rock Mountain with not even 350 meters above sea level, but still rises far above the surrounding land, which is only about 150 meters above the sea level.

Each of these mountain ranges is characterized by specific characteristics, such as the chain of the Smoky Mountains is in contrast to the Blue Ridge Mountains coherent and uniform in their geographical orientation and height. The Blue Ridge Mountains are composed of several individual formations rather loosely strung together to form a chain, the height of the peak varies from about 1500 meters and 2040 meters above sea level, while the average height is about 1200 meters. The slopes in the east rise steeply from 500 meters to 1300 meters above sea level where they act on many observers like a daunting high wall that runs through the western horizon of the state. The Brushy Mountains are characterized by a remarkable uniformity in direction and height, because many of the peaks move to 600 meters above sea level, while only collect a few more than 700 meters high. The last mountain range, the Uwharrie Ridge sometimes presents itself as a series elevated summit, but also shows some smooth and isolated bumps that act often higher due to the very shallow environment than they actually are. Are scenic and fertile valleys that are abundant crisscrossed with rivers and streams between the mountains. The mountains themselves are covered with lush forests that form often very dense undergrowth, only a few peaks are bare with a prairie -like vegetation. Although agriculture still plays an important role in this region, the importance of tourism to steadily and has become a major economic sector in the mountain region. One of the newer, high-growth sectors of agriculture is the production of Christmas trees.

Waters

In North Carolina, there are three separate river systems: rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico, rivers that flow over South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean and rivers that flow into North Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean. The cause of the separation between the systems that flow to west into over the Mississippi into the Gulf, and the rivers that flow towards the Atlantic Ocean, is the eastern watershed of America. It runs to the west of the country from north to south along the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the rivers of the first system originate on the west flank of the Blue Ridge. The separation between the river systems that flow in the Atlantic, is caused by a survey, which stretches from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the south-east almost to the port city of Wilmington along the border with Virginia.

The rivers of the second system originate on the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge. These rivers, the Catawba River and Yadkin River, and their tributaries supply about 30 counties of the state, run like a fan across the country and irrigate a large part of Piedmont, before flowing across the border to South Carolina, where the coast reach. The Yadkin River was greatly reduced for power generation and flood control; just below the last dam before it flows to the South Carolina area, the Pee Dee River, he is called. The Chowan River, Roanoke River, the Tar River, the Neuse River and the Cape Fear River are part of the third river system in North Carolina and were before construction of the railway routes important trade routes. The latter three rivers originate near the northern border of the state, near the eastern source of the Yadkin River. The origin of the Chowan River is located in the neighboring state of Virginia, near the Appomattox Court House, while the main sources of the Roanoke River are also located in Virginia, but spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Other inflows are found in the headwaters of the Yadkin River in the area of North Carolina. Only one of the rivers flowing directly into the sea, the other fan out on the coastal plain on getting further and lead to the two sounds.

The flows of all three systems are lined by mostly flat, wooded with cypress and hardwoods shores. In its course from the high plateau to the lowlands they overcome differences in height of several hundred meters through rapids and waterfalls. This offer regenerative energies for different machines. In the colonial past of many cotton mills and other plants used as sawmills the offer and thus favored the rise of many towns and villages. The sounds and the shallow running rivers in the low-lying coastal plain provide rich fish stocks and colonies of water birds. The banks of these rivers are popular hunting grounds for hunting ducks and other birds while fishing the region to visit the Able Marle sound mainly because of the herring, shad and snap.

The sounds and there opens out rivers create a network of waterways with a length of about 1800 kilometers, which are suitable for steam and sailing ships. They are separated by the barrier islands from the open sea. On these between 90 meters and just over three kilometers wide Island, which is semi-wild ponies Bank, a midget race horses live. The Banks pull the entire coast of North Carolina along and be interrupted by connections to the Atlantic, which usually are too shallow for the passage of vessels. The Banks limited the development of ports and trade over the waterway in the north significantly, but offer Beaufort Harbor and the Cape Fear River are suitable harbors.

In North Carolina, there are everywhere smaller natural lakes; but by the damming of the rivers by energy supply companies and larger lakes and reservoirs are developed, which only serve to flood control and energy production as well as tourist destinations, recreation areas and hunting and fishing areas. A larger lake area was created for example by the backwater of the Yadkin River at the foothills of the Uwharrie Mountains: the Uwharrie Lakes. The largest of these lakes is the High Rock Lake, a popular destination for fishing and recreation. The largest manmade lake in North Carolina, with an area of 129 square kilometers of Lake Norman, a reservoir on the Catawba River, has emerged on the banks of Lake Norman State Park in cooperation between government and energy suppliers.

Geology

The geology of North Carolina can also be divided into three regions, which run well in a west-east direction substantially. It is the oldest with about one to about one and a half billion years ago in the west part of the state. Called the Blue Ridge Belt Belt, which also includes the smaller portions Murphy Belt and Grandfather Mountain window are counted, consists of volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, such as feldspar, mica and quartz.

To the east, the Piedmont connects, which includes in addition to the Inner Piedmont Belt with an age 750-500 million years ago the Kings Mountain Belt, Milton Belt, Belt Charlotte, Carolina Slate Belt, Raleigh Belt and the Eastern Slate Belt, the all have an age 650-300 million years ago. Also part of the Piedmont are the 200 to 190 million years, significantly younger Triassic Basins, former lowering ditches that have been filled by mud and rinsed sediments of the adjacent higher areas. In the Carolina Slate Belt mines were operated for gold recovery before the gold rush, now mainly granite, gneiss, and other materials for the construction industry are broken down next to lithium and sound in this region.

The largest and most recent geological section of the state is the Atlantic Coastal Plain, which covers about 45 % of the state and extends from the Piedmont to the Atlantic. To the west, the coastal plain is bounded by the so-called drop zone, which is about 90 meters above the present sea level, the three million years old shoreline. It consists mainly of sedimentary rocks, mostly sand and clay, in the south of the coastal plain is also limestone. The most economically significant mineral of the state, suitable for fertilizer phosphate is mined in this region.

Climate

The influences and the climate of North Carolina differ in the various regions of the state. The mountains often serve as a " sign" of the Piedmont region, which keeps low temperatures and storms out of the Midwest. In the largest part of the state there is a temperate rain hot climate; except in the higher areas in the Appalachians, which are classified according to the zone of the fully wet boreal climate. The average daily temperature in most areas of the state lies in July to 32 ° C. In January, the average temperatures are at 10 ° C.

The coastal plain is climatically influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which in winter makes for mild and in the summer for not too high temperatures in the coastal plain. The daily maximum temperature on the coast in summer is 31 ° C, while winter temperatures rarely fall below 4 ° C. The average daily maximum temperature in the winter months is in the coastal plain to 15 ° C, temperatures below freezing are rare. Annual fall in the coastal plain about two inches of snow, a lot of Winter are completely free of snow and ice.

The Atlantic Ocean has less influence in the Piedmont clearly, the summers are hotter and winters colder than in the coastal region. The maximum daily temperatures are in the summer average at about 32 ° C, but rarely rise above 37 ° C. The warmest region of the state lies in the lower areas of the Piedmont, around the city of Fayetteville. Without the moderating influence of the sea, the temperature fluctuations in the Piedmont are much stronger than on the coast. The winter is on the Piedmont Plateau less mild than in the plane of the coastal region, the daily average temperatures are around 10 ° C and at night often fall below freezing. The annual snowfall amount to 7-12 inches in the region around Charlotte and up to 20 centimeters in Raleigh. The winter weather in the Piedmont is known for sleet and freezing rain, which can be as fierce in some storms that trees and power lines to collapse under the load. Although the annual rainfall and the humidity in the Piedmont are lower than on the coast or in the mountains, about 100 liters per square meter of rainfall are measured annually.

The Appalachian Mountains are the coolest area of North Carolina and even in summer the temperature rarely rises above 26 ° C. The average daily winter temperatures ranging between -1 ° C and 5 ° C, often below -9 ° C. It falls 36-51 inches of snow per year, in the higher region usually more, for example, fell during a blizzard in 1993, more than 120 inches of snow on Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain in North Carolina.

Severe weather phenomena are not rare in North Carolina. On average, the state is taken once a decade full of a hurricane, tropical storms hit the state about every three to four years. In some years, North Carolina can be repeatedly struck by a hurricane and tropical storms, or feel the effects of the foothills of these storms in the coastal plain. Only the states of Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often than North Carolina. Thunderstorms are listed on average 50 days per year, some so severe that they cause hail and wind gusts of hurricane force.

Although most hurricanes cause damage in the coastal regions of the country, they can quite easily reach the interior and cause great destruction there. For example, Hurricane Hugo reached the hinterland of the state, causing severe damage in Charlotte and wandered up to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest of the state. The annual average North Carolina experienced fewer than 20 tornadoes, most are caused by hurricanes or tropical storms in the coastal plain. Resulting from thunderstorms tornadoes occur in the eastern parts of the state, while the western Piedmont is often protected by the mountains from such storms. Another weather phenomenon called Cold Air Damming, the damming of cold air masses found in the west of the state occasionally held, which can weaken the storms, but also leads to massive freezing rain in winter.

Fauna and Flora

The fauna and flora of the state offers a very diverse picture, ranging from the economical and shallow-rooted vegetation of the coastal region and the resident American alligators to the inhabited by bears and white-tailed deer coniferous forests in the Appalachian Mountains due to geographical location. The typical plants and animals of the Southeast are represented, a total of about 300 species and sub-species, and about 3,000 different flowering plants. Several of occurring in North Carolina plant and animal species are considered endangered, partly refers to the occurrence in the state, but also nationally endangered species have their habitat in North Carolina, such as the bald eagle, various whales and the Blue Ridge goldenrod.

In the coastal region settle in the salt meadows and marshes, especially oats and beach grasses to silt. On trees grow mainly Virginian cedar and pine, but see the black water swamps of the region and cypress, eucalyptus and mangroves good growing conditions. Worldwide exclusively in the region around Wilmington Venus Flytrap is widespread. In addition to various salt - and freshwater fish and oysters, sea turtles and protected Mississippi alligators live in the rivers, lakes and along the coast of the state. A special feature of the Outer Banks are the so-called Bank ponies halbverwildert on the barrier island chain live.

In Piedmont, the trees may have deeper roots, there are mixed forests and open land, where poplars, birches, lindens, horse chestnut and maple grow, plus, for example, the Carolina hemlock and various orchid species. Common species in addition to the common species such as raccoons and squirrels and possums, some endangered species, species of bats and beavers. The rivers and lakes are inhabited by perch, catfish and other fish, and there are a variety of water birds, especially ducks and geese.

Towards the mountains, the vegetation changes into coniferous forests, partly here overlap the habitats of the animals with the Piedmont. Already extinct are gray wolves and mountain lions, but come Bobcats in the woods of North Carolina before. In the area of the Great Smoky Mountain also live black bears, which are now a tourist attraction. The only introduced in the 19th century spread to feral pigs occur, as well as white-tailed deer. In the clear rivers of the mountain trout and perch live.