Outline of North Carolina
North Carolina is a Southern state with a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. Islands, reefs, and sand bars make its shores some of the most treacherous in the world. Many ships have been wrecked at Cape Hatteras by the rough seas and difficult currents. Cape Hatteras is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic. North Carolina leads all the states of the United States in tobacco farming and in the manufacture of tobacco products. It also leads the nation in the production of textiles and wooden furniture.
The state stretches westward from the coast across swamps and fertile farms. The land rises through lovely hills into industrial cities and towns. Tobacco fields, with neat rows of tobacco plants, are scattered throughout the state. Rugged mountains cover much of the far western part of North Carolina. Mount Mitchell, which rises more than 1 1/4 miles (2 kilometers) above sea level, is the highest peak in the eastern United States.
Manufacturing is North Carolina's most important economic activity. Service industries are also a major part of the state's economy. The leading services include education, health care, private research, and retail trade. Research Triangle Park, a large research complex in the Raleigh-Durham area, is an important center of research for the electronics, medical, and other industries. North Carolina is a leading state in raising chickens, hogs, and turkeys. The state's main crop is tobacco. Tobacco fields, with neat rows of tobacco plants, are scattered throughout North Carolina.
In 1584, English explorers looked for a suitable site for a settlement along the North Carolina coast. As a result, the first groups of English settlers in America built colonies on Roanoke Island off the coast in 1585 and 1587. The earlier group returned to England. The later group vanished from the island, leaving behind only a mystery that has puzzled the ages. This group has been named the Lost Colony. Virginia Dare, the first child born to English parents in America, was a member of the Lost Colony.
During colonial days, groups of patriots in North Carolina, such as the Sons of Liberty, defied English taxes and English rule. After the Revolutionary War began in 1775, North Carolina was the first colony to instruct its delegates at the Continental Congress to vote for independence. Before the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-1865), North Carolina tried to preserve the Union even after most other Southern states had withdrawn. But after North Carolina left the Union, it did its best to help the Confederate cause. More than 10 Civil War battles were fought on North Carolina soil. About a fourth of all Confederate soldiers killed came from North Carolina.
Ten metropolitan areas lie entirely in North Carolina. They are Asheville, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, Greenville, Hickory-Morganton, Jacksonville, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, Rocky Mount, and Wilmington. The Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill area extends into South Carolina. The Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News area includes Currituck County in North Carolina. Charlotte, the state's largest city, has more than 540,000 people. North Carolina's other cities with more than 100,000 people, in order of population, include Raleigh, the state capital; Greensboro; Durham; Winston-Salem; and Fayetteville. All these cities lie inland. The state's largest coastal city is Wilmington, with a population of about 76,000.
Many Northerners come to North Carolina's sandhills area for relief from the cold winter weather. Blossoming mountain laurels, azaleas, and rhododendrons in spring and summer, and the beautiful colors of autumn, lure visitors to the mountains. Hunters track quail and deer through the mountains. Swimmers, sunbathers, and people who like fishing enjoy North Carolina's lakes, rivers, and coastlines. Historic sites, battlefields, old mansions, and beautiful gardens attract sightseers and students of American history.
North Carolina's nickname, the Tar Heel State, refers to one of the state's earliest products-tar. According to legend, some Confederate troops retreated during a fierce Civil War battle. They left the North Carolina soldiers to fight the Union soldiers alone. The North Carolinians supposedly threatened to put tar on the heels of the other Confederate soldiers so that they would ''stick better in the next fight.'' Raleigh is North Carolina's capital. Charlotte is the state's largest city.
