North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the mid-atlantic region of the United States of America. It was one of the original Thirteen Colonies, originally known as Carolina, and the home of the first English colony in the Americas. On 20 May 1861, it became the last of the Confederate states to secede from the Union, and was readmitted on 4 July 1868. It was also the location of the first successful powered heavier-than-air flight by the Wright brothers at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of 1 July 2006, the population estimate is 8,856,505 - a 10% increase since 1 April 2000.
Due to its wide range of elevation, from sea level on the coast to almost 6,700 feet (2,042 m) in the mountains, North Carolina has the most variation in climate of all the mid-atlantic states. The climate in the coastal and Piedmont regions of eastern and central North Carolina is similar to other southern states such as Georgia and South Carolina, while the climate in the western mountains is closer to that found in New England or the upper Midwest. While the coastal plains, especially the tidewater areas, are strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, the western, mountainous part of the state is more than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, resulting in considerably less maritime influence. As such, the climate of the state ranges from a warm, humid subtropical climate near the coast to a humid continental climate in the mountains. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone.
Geography
North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The United States Census Bureau classifies North Carolina as a southern state in the subcategory of being one of the South Atlantic States.
North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the coastal plain, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills, which take up the remaining 20% of the state in the west. The coastal plain begins in the east as a chain of narrow, sandy barrier islands known as the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks form two sounds—Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south; they are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States. Immediately inland, the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils ideal for growing tobacco, soybeans, and cotton. The coastal plain is North Carolina's most rural section, with few large towns or cities, and agriculture remains an important industry. The major rivers of this section, the Neuse River, Tar River, Pamlico River, Cape Fear River, and Roanoke River, tend to be slow-moving and wide.
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It uses material from the Wikipedia article "North Carolina"