North Carolina

North Carolina is a  located on the  in the  of the. It was one of the original, originally known as , and the home of the in the. On, , it became the last of the to secede from the , and was readmitted on ,. It was also the location of the first successful powered heavier-than-air flight by the at  near  in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of, , the population estimate is 8,856,505 (a 10% increase since , ) , and the capital is Raleigh.

North Carolina has a wide range of elevation, from sea level on the coast to almost 6,700 feet (2,042 m) in the mountains. The climate in the coastal and regions of eastern and central North Carolina is similar to other southern states such as  and, while the climate in the western mountains is closer to that found in  or the. 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 mi from the coast, resulting in considerably less maritime influence. As such, the climate of the state ranges from a warm, near the coast to a  in the mountains. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone.

Geography




North Carolina is bordered by on the south,  on the southwest,  on the west,  on the north, and the  on the east. The classifies North Carolina as a  state in the subcategory of being one of the. North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the region, which contains the middle 35%; and the  and. The extreme eastern section of the state contains, a string of sandy, narrow islands which form a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and inland waterways. The Outer Banks form two sounds&mdash; in the north and 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, , and. The coastal plain is North Carolina's most section, with few large towns or cities. remains an important industry. The major rivers of this section, the, , , and the , tend to be slow-moving and wide.

The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the "", a line which marks the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most urbanized and densely populated section - all five of the state's largest cities are located in the Piedmont. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. A number of small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the, , the , , , the , and the. The Piedmont ranges from about 300–400 (90–120 ) elevation in the east to over 1,000 feet (300 m) in the west. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the and, tend to be fast-flowing, shallow, and narrow.

The of the state is part of the  range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the, , , Mountains, and the. The Black Mountains are the highest in the Eastern United States, and culminate in at 6,684 feet (2,037 m). It is the highest point east of the. Although agriculture remains important, has become the dominant industry in the mountains. Due to the higher altitude in the mountains, the climate often differs starkly from the rest of the state. Winters in western North Carolina typically feature significant snowfall and subfreezing temperatures more akin to a northern state than a southern one.

North Carolina has 17 major river basins. Five of the state's river basins - the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Watauga and New - are part of the Basin, which drains to the. All the others flow to the. Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's borders - the Cape Fear, Neuse, White Oak and Tar-Pamlico.

Climate
The three geographical divisions of North Carolina are useful when discussing the of the state.

The coastal plain is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which keeps temperatures mild in the winter and moderate in the summer. Daytime high temperatures on the coast average less than 89 °F (31.6 °C) during the summer. In the winter, the coast has the mildest temperatures in the state, with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 40 °F (4.4 °C). The coastal plain usually receives only one inch (2.5 cm) of and/or ice annually, and in some years there may be no snow or ice at all.

The Atlantic Ocean has less influence on the Piedmont region, and as a result the Piedmont has hotter summers and colder winters than the coast. Daytime highs in the Piedmont usually average over 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer. While it is not common for temperatures to reach over 100 °F (37.8 °C) in North Carolina, when it happens, the highest temperatures are to be found in the lower areas of the Piedmont, especially around the city of.

In the winter, the Piedmont is much less mild than the coast, with daytime temperatures that usually reach in the mid to upper 50's, while low to mid 60's are common winter highs around the coast. The region averages from 3-5 inches of snowfall annually in the Charlotte area to 6-8 inches in the Raleigh-Durham area. The Piedmont is especially notorious for and. It can be heavy enough in some storms to snarl traffic and collapse trees and power lines. Annual precipitation and humidity is lower in the Piedmont than either the mountains or the coast, but even at its lowest, the precipitation is a generous 40 in (102 cm) per year.

The are the coolest area of the state, with daytime temperatures averaging in the 40's for highs in the winter and often falling into the teens (&minus;9 °C) or lower in winter nights. Relatively cool summers have temperatures rarely rising above 80 °F (26.7 °C). Snowfall in the mountains is usually 14–20 in (36–51 cm) per year, but it is often greater in the higher elevations. For example, during the more than 50 inches of snow fell on.

Severe weather is not a rare event in North Carolina. On average, the state receives a direct hit from a hurricane once a decade. Tropical storms arrive every 3 or 4 years. In some years several hurricanes or tropical storms can directly hit the state or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often. On average, North Carolina has 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year, with some storms becoming severe enough to produce hail and damaging winds. Although many people believe that hurricanes only menace coastal areas, the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough can cause severe damage. In 1989 caused heavy damage in  and even as far inland as the  in the northwestern part of the state. North Carolina averages less than 20 tornadoes per year. Many of these are produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina.

Native Americans, The Lost Colony and Permanent Settlement


North Carolina was originally inhabited by many different native peoples, including the, , , , , , , , , , , , , and. In, , granted a charter to , for whom the state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then ). Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, both ending in failure. It was the second American territory the attempted to colonize. The demise of one, the "" of, remains one of the great mysteries of American history. , the first child to be born in North America, was born in North Carolina. is named for her.

As early as 1650, colonists from the Virginia colony moved into the area of. By 1663, granted a charter to establish a new colony on the North American continent which generally established its borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father. By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. In 1710, due to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony began to split into North Carolina and. The latter became a crown colony in 1729.

Colonial Period and Revolutionary War
The first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were colonists who migrated south from, following a rapid growth of the colony and the subsequent shortage of available farmland. was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the and east of the  in 1655. By 1663, this northeastern area of the, known as the , was undergoing full-scale British settlement. During the same period, the English monarch gave the province to the, a group of noblemen who had helped restore Charles to the throne in 1660. The new province of "Carolina" was named in honor and memory of King (Latin: Carolus). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. With the exception of the holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later. Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the Low country and uplands, would affect the political, economic, and social life of the state from the eighteenth until the twentieth century. The Tidewater in Eastern North Carolina was settled largely by immigrants from and the. The upcountry of western North Carolina was settled largely by and , the so-called "". During the the English and Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business connections with Great Britain. The Scots-Irish and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain.

On, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the  to vote for independence from the British crown, through the  passed by the. The dates of both of these independence-related events are memorialized on the and. Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries. A major American victory in the war took place at along the North Carolina-South Carolina border. On October 7, 1780 a force of 1000 mountain men from western North Carolina (including what is today the State of ) overwhelmed a force of some 1000 British troops led by Major. Most of the British soldiers in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the British Crown (they were called "Tories"). The American victory at Kings Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence. It prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories.

The road to and America's independence from England led through North Carolina. As the moved north from victories in  and, , the Southern Division of the  and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General 's victory over the British Cavalry Commander at the  on, , southern commander  led British Lord  across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from Cornwallis's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River."

Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the in present-day  on,. Although the troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior American Army were crippling. Following this "", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis's eventual defeat at later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence.

Antebellum Period
On, , North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the Constitution. In 1840, it completed the building in, still standing today. Unlike many other Southern states, North Carolina never developed a dominant slaveholding, and middle-class tended to control the state government. Most of North Carolina's slaveowners and large were located in the eastern Tidewater. Western North Carolinians tended to be non-slaveowning subsistence farmers. In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129–mile (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer' railroad," from in the east to  (northwest of ).

0n October 25, 1836 construction began on the to connect the port city of  with the state capital of. In 1849 the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to, , and. During the Civil War the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of.

During the antebellum period North Carolina was an overwhelmingly state, even by Southern standards. In 1860 only one North Carolina town, the port city of, had a population of more than 10,000. , the state capital, had barely more than 5,000 residents. While slaveholding was less concentrated than in some Southern states, according to the 1860 census, 33% of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African Americans. They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the Tidewater. In addition, 30,463 free blacks lived in the state.

Civil War
In 1860, North Carolina was a with a relatively small slave population (compared to other Southern states). However, it refused to join the until President  called on it to invade its sister-state,. The state was the site of few battles, but it provided at least 125,000 troops to the Confederacy&mdash; far more than any other state. Approximately 40,000 of those troops never returned home, dead of battlefield wounds, disease, and privation. Governor, elected in 1862, tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President in. Even after secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy; this was particularly true of non-slave-owning farmers in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region. Some of these farmers remained neutral during the, while some covertly supported the cause during the conflict. Even so, Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the, the Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at, which was a futile attempt by Confederate General to slow Union General 's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865. In April 1865 Johnston surrendered to Sherman at, in what is today. This was the last major Confederate Army to surrender. North Carolina's port city of was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union, it fell in the spring of 1865 after the nearby.

The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt, a North Carolinian. He was killed in the in June 1861. At the in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in  and advanced the farthest into the Northern lines of any Confederate regiment. At in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate  in the Civil War. For many years, North Carolinians proudly boasted that they had been "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg, and Last at Appomattox."

Demographics
North Carolina has 3  with a population over 1 million:
 * The : Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC - population  2,191,604
 * : Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC- population of 1,565,223
 * The : Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point, NC - population of 1,513,576



According to the, as of 2006, North Carolina has an estimated population of 8,856,505, which is an increase of 184,046, or 2.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 810,014, or 10.0%, since the year 2000. This exceeds the rate of growth for the United States as a whole. The growth comprises a natural increase since the last census of 293,761 people (that is 749,959 births minus 456,198 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 527,991 people into the state. from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 180,986 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 347,005 people. Between 2005 and 2006, North Carolina passed to become the 10th most populous state.

North Carolina has historically been a rural state, with most of the population living on farms and in small towns. However, over the last 30 years the state has undergone rapid, and today the residents of North Carolina live primarily in urban and an areas, as is the case in most of the United States. In particular, the cities of and  have become major urban centers, with large, diverse, mainly affluent and rapidly-growing populations. Most of this growth in has been fueled by  from, , and.

The of North Carolina is located in, in the town of.

6.7% of North Carolina's population were reported as under 5 years old, 24.4% under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Ancestry Group
The largest in North Carolina are:

African Americans
s make up a quarter of North Carolina's population and the state experienced a growth of middle-class blacks since the 1970s. African Americans are concentrated in the state's eastern Coastal Plain and in parts of the Piedmont Plateau where plantation agriculture was most dominant. Until the mid 1860s, North Carolina had more small farms and fewer plantations than adjacent South Carolina and Virginia. These "" farmers were non-slave-holding, private land owners of tracts of approximately 500 acres (2 km²) or less. African-American communities number by the hundreds in rural counties in the south-central and northeast, and in predominantly black neighborhoods in the cities: Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. By contrast, relatively few blacks live in the state's mountains and rural areas of the western Piedmont, and in some mountain counties the black population has historically numbered in the few dozens at most. North Carolina harbored the famous of 1960, an important event to the.

European Americans
North Carolinians of, and  ancestry are concentrated in the western mountains, coastal areas, and rural areas of the central Piedmont. In the area, there is a substantial population of  ancestry from the migration of members of the  during the mid-18th century. The coastal region attracted a history of European immigration, like Swiss-Germans who settled in the late 18th century.

Native Americans
Estimated population figures for in North Carolina as of 2004 is 110,198. Only five states (,, , , and ) have a larger Native American population than North Carolina. The total Native American and Alaska Native population in the is 2,824,751, or 0.95% of the total.

To date, North Carolina recognizes eight Native American tribal nations within its state borders:
 * The were federally recognized in 1868 and received state recognition in 1889. The Eastern Cherokee live in eastern, as well as   and   counties, and have roughly 13,400 enrolled members, most of whom live on a reservation properly called the . The Reservation is slightly more than 56,000 acres (230 km²), and is held in trust by the federal government specifically for the.
 * The Tribe of Native Americans received state recognition in 1965. The tribe is comprised of a little more than 3,800 enrolled members who reside in northeastern North Carolina's   and  counties.
 * The almost 2,000 members of the Indian Tribe are located in the mid-atlantic North Carolina counties of, and  and received state recognition in 1971.
 * The Tribe of Native Americans are located in   and  counties, and have a population of 1,781 enrolled members. The  received state recognition in 1911. North Carolina rescinded recognition in 1913 but reinstated it in 1971.
 * The Sappony Indians of received state recognition in 1911 and have 850 enrolled members.
 * The have a population of 800 members who reside in  and  counties and received state recognition in 2002.
 * The are an -descent Native American tribe located primarily in rural northeastern, , and  counties, with a population of 557 enrolled members.

Hispanics/Latinos
Since 1990 the state has seen a boom in the number of /Latinos. Once chiefly employed as migrant labor, the increase in Hispanics since 1990 can be attributed in part to the ease of access to low skilled jobs that are the first step on the economic ladder. As a result growing numbers of Hispanics are settling in the state, mainly from, , and the. Hispanic neighborhoods are found in the cities and there are sizable populations of and  in North Carolina. In 2005, the estimated that 300,000 — roughly 65 percent of North Carolina’s Latino population — are, based on the Census Bureau’s population estimates. The population has grown from 76,726 in 1990 to 517,617 in 2005, an average increase of 13.5% per year.

Asian Americans
The state has one of the most rapid growing, specifically and , populations in the country; the populations nearly quintupled and tripled, respectively, between 1990 and 2002. The earliest record of Asian immigration in North Carolina goes back to the mid 1800s when the first s were hired as agricultural workers. The famous Chinese-Malay American Siamese twins - - settled in  in 1839. s, s, and arrived in the early and mid 20th century. Recent estimates suggest that the state's Asian American population has increased significantly since 2000. The population in North Carolina has grown by 12,000 since the 1980s.

Religion
North Carolina, like other states, has traditionally been overwhelmingly, with the largest Protestant denomination being the. However, the rapid influx of and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing the number of  and  in the state, and the numerical dominance of the Baptist Church is beginning to decline. This is especially evident in the urban areas of the state, where the population is more culturally diverse and the bulk of the growth has occurred. However, in many rural counties the Southern Baptists remain the dominant Christian church. The second-largest Protestant church in North Carolina are the, who are strong in the northern Piedmont, and especially in populous. There are also substantial numbers of in, and northeastern North Carolina. The have historically had a strong presence in, the state's largest city. The current religious affiliations of the people of North Carolina are shown below:


 * – 88%
 * – 77%
 * – 40%
 * – 10%
 * – 3%
 * – 3%
 * – 10%
 * Other Christian – 1% such as or.
 * Non-Religious – 11% (,, and others)
 * Other Religions – 1%

Economy
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state's 2004 total gross state product was $336 billion. Its 2005 per capita personal income was $31,029, 36th in the nation. North Carolina's agricultural outputs include and, , , ,  stock, , , and. However, North Carolina is the state most affected by and industrial growth in countries like ; one in five North Carolina manufacturing jobs has been lost to overseas competition. There has been a distinct difference in the economic growth of North Carolina's urban areas and its rural, small-town areas. While large cities such as, , , and others have experienced rapid population and economic growth over the last thirty years, many of the state's small towns have suffered from job and population loss. Most of North Carolina's small towns historically developed around textile and furniture factories; as these factories have closed and moved to low-wage markets in Asia and Latin America the small towns that depended upon them have suffered.

Agriculture and manufacturing
Over the past century, North Carolina has grown to become a national leader in, , and. The state's industrial output&mdash;mainly, , , and &mdash;ranked eighth in the nation in the early 1990s. The textile industry, which was once a mainstay of the state's economy, has been steadily losing jobs to producers in Latin America and Asia for the past 25 years, though the state remains the largest textile employer in the United States. Over the past few years, another important Carolina industry, furniture production, has also been hard-hit by jobs moving to Asia (especially China). , one of North Carolina's earliest sources of revenue, remains vital to the local economy, although concerns about whether the federal government will continue to support subsidies for tobacco farmers has led some growers to switch to other crops like or leave farming altogether. North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco in the country.

Finance, Technology and Research
, North Carolina's largest city, continues to experience rapid growth, in large part due to the banking & finance industry. Charlotte is now the second largest banking center in the (after ), and is home to  and. The is also home to 5 other Fortune 500 companies.

The and  industries have been steadily on the rise since the creation of the  (RTP) in the 1950s. Located between and  (mostly in Durham County), its proximity to local research universities has no doubt helped to fuel growth. Meanwhile, beginning in the 1980s,

The underway in  (approx. 30 miles northeast of Charlotte) promises to enrich and bolster the Charlotte area in the same way that RTP changed the Raleigh-Durham region. Encompassing 5.8 million square feet, the complex is a collaborative project involving, , and , along with private and corporate investors and developers. The facility incorporates corporate, academic, commercial and residential space, oriented toward (R&D) and biotechnology. Similarly, in downtown, the is undergoing an expansion. Approximately thirty miles to the east of Winston Salem's research park, and  have joined forces to create the Gateway University Research Park, a technology-based research entity which will focus its efforts on areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology & biochemistry, environmental sciences, and genetics among other science-based disciplines.

Film and the arts
Film studios are located in, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, , , and. Some of the best-known films and television shows filmed in the state include: ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', , Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and . The television show most associated with North Carolina is, which aired on  from 1960 to 1968. The series is set in the fictional small town of, North Carolina, and was based on the real-life town of , although it was filmed in. Mount Airy is the hometown of actor. The show is still popular in and is frequently shown in  around the nation. North Carolina is also home to some of the Southeast's biggest film festivals, including the and the  in, and the  in.

The School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem is a unique arts conservatory that combines rigorous professional training with unparalleled facilities, equipment and resources. All Second, Third and Fourth Year productions are entered into film and video festivals worldwide, and several have won major awards, including the Student Academy Award, the Angelus Award and the Cine Eagle Award. The best Fourth Year productions are also screened on film in front of large industry audiences at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles in June each year. School of the Arts alumni have performed in or behind the scenes of Broadway shows, film, television and regional theatre, and are members of the world’s finest symphony orchestras and opera and dance companies. They have won or been nominated for all of the major awards in the entertainment industry, including, , , and others. Some well-known alumni of the NCSA School of Drama are Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Dent, and Tom Hulce.

Tax revenue
North Carolina personal is slightly, with four incremental brackets ranging from 6.0% to 8.25%. The state is 4.25%. Most taxable sales or purchases are subject to the state tax as well as the 2.5% local tax rate levied by all counties, for a combined 6.75%. Mecklenburg County has an additional 0.5% local tax for public transportation, bringing sales taxes there to a total 7.25%. The total local rate of tax in Dare County is 3.5%, producing a combined state and local rate there of 7.75%. In addition, there is a 29.9¢ tax per gallon of, a 30¢ tax per pack of cigarettes, a 79¢ tax on wine, and a 48¢ tax on beer. There are also additional taxes levied against food and prepared foods, normally totaling 2% and 8% respectively. The in North Carolina is locally assessed and collected by the counties. The three main elements of the property tax system in North Carolina are, s and (inventories and household personal property are exempt). Estimated at 10.5% of income, North Carolina’s state/local tax burden percentage ranks 23rd highest nationally (taxpayers pay an average of $3,526 per-capita), just below the national average of 10.6%. North Carolina ranks 40th in the 's State Business Tax Climate Index with neighboring states ranked as follows: (18th),  (19th),  (26th) and  (13th).

Mass transit
Several cities are served by. The (CATS) operates historical trolleys, express shuttles and bus service serving Charlotte and its immediate suburbs. In 2007 it is expected to open the light rail line connecting  with suburban.

The (FAST) serves the city with ten bus routes and two shuttle routes.

Within Raleigh, the system operates 27 bus routes. The operates buses that serve the  and connect to municipal bus systems in  and ; efforts for the city of Raleigh to build a light rail from the downtown areas of Raleigh to the downtown area of Durham failed as TTA's projected ridership did not meet federal standards. The Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) bus system runs within Durham. The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, which has its own bus service, Chapel Hill Transit.

Greensboro is serviced by the Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA), which operates 14 bus routes. Additionally, the Higher Education Area Transit (HEAT) system provides service to students who attend the following institutions: Bennett College, Elon University School of Law, Greensboro College, Guilford College, Guilford Technical Community College, North Carolina A&T State University, and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The HEAT service provides transportation between campuses and various other destinations, including downtown Greensboro.

Winston-Salem Transit Authority (WSTA) operates 30 bus routes around the city of ; additionally, WSTA recently completed construction of a central downtown mult-modal transportation center with 16 covered bus bays adjacent to a large enclosed lobby/waiting area. There are future plans being discussed for a $52 million streetcar system connecting Piedmont Triad Research Park/Downtown with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) is the Triad's 10-county regional organization with the goal of enhancing all forms of transportaion through regional cooperation. PART Express Bus provides express shuttle service to each major Triad city from Piedmont Triad International Airport, while Connections Express connects the Triad to Duke and UNC Medical Centers. PART is also administering and developing several rail service studies that include both commuter and intercity rail.

Major highways
The North Carolina Highway System is comprised of a vast network of s, s, and s. North Carolina has the second largest state-maintained highway network in the United States. Major highways include:


 * [[Image:US 401.svg|30px]]

{| width="100%"|

Politics and government
The, , and eight elected executive department heads form the. Ten other executive department heads appointed by the governor form the. The state's current is. The, or Legislature, consists of two houses: a 50-member Senate and a 120-member House of Representatives. For the, the current is   (the  is the President of the Senate); The  is.

The is the state's highest ; it numbers seven justices. The is the only intermediate appellate court in the state; it consists of fifteen judges who rule in rotating panels of three. Together, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals constitute the appellate division of the court system. The trial division includes the Superior Court and the District Court. All criminal cases, civil cases involving more than $10,000 and misdemeanor and infraction appeals from District Court are tried in Superior Court. A of 12 hears the criminal cases. Civil cases&mdash;such as, , , and cases involving less than $10,000&mdash;are heard in District Court, along with criminal cases involving s and lesser infractions. The trial of a in District Court is always without a jury. The District Court also hears juvenile cases involving children under the age of 16 who are delinquent and children under the age of 18 who are undisciplined, dependent, neglected, or abused. Magistrates accept guilty pleas for minor misdemeanors, accept guilty pleas for traffic violations, and accept waivers of trial for cases among other things. In civil cases, the magistrate is authorized to try small claims involving up to $4,000 including landlord eviction cases. Magistrates also perform civil marriages.

State constitution
The state constitution governs the structure and function of the North Carolina government. It is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina. Like all state constitutions in the United States, this constitution is subject to. Any provision of the state constitution can be nullified if it conflicts with and the.

North Carolina has had three s:
 * 1776: Ratified, , as the first constitution of the independent state. The Declaration of Rights was ratified the preceding day.
 * 1868: Framed in accordance with the Acts after North Carolina was readmitted into the Union. It was a major reorganization and modification of the original into fourteen articles.  It also introduced s which each county was required to create, the only southern state to do so.
 * 1971: Minor consolidation of the 1868 constitution and subsequent amendments.

Federal apportionments
North Carolina currently has 13, which, when combined with its two seats, gives the state 15. In the, the state was represented by six and seven  , plus two Republican Senators. The Democrats picked up one seat in the  for the.

Politics
North Carolina is politically dominated by the and  political parties. have had difficulty making inroads in state politics, including the and. They have both run candidates for office with neither party successfully electing a candidate to a state office. The Libertarian party is currently engaged in a lawsuit with the state over ballot access. Historically, North Carolina has been politically divided between the eastern and western parts of the state. Before the, the eastern half of North Carolina supported the Democratic Party, primarily because the region contained most of the state's slave owners and large cash crops. The western half of the state tended to support the party, which was generally seen as being more moderate on the issue of slavery and was more supportive of business interests. Following the Civil War, the Republicans, backed by the victorious, controlled the state government. When federal troops were removed in the 1870s, the Democratic Party quickly gained control of the state government.

In 1894, the Republican and parties formed an alliance, called an, which resulted in control of the state legislature and governorship. However, in 1898 the state's Democratic Party, in a blatantly campaign, regained control of the state government. Using the slogan, "", and backed by influential newspapers such as the under publisher, the Democrats ousted the Populist-Republican majority. With some notable exceptions, North Carolina then became a part of the. However, some counties in the western Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains continued to vote Republican, continuing a tradition that dated from their opposition to before the Civil War. In 1952, aided by the presidential candidacy of popular war hero, the Republicans were successful in electing a U.S. Congressman,. Republicans slowly made gains in the 1960s, and in 1972, aided by the landslide re-election of, the Republicans elected their first governor and U.S. Senator of the twentieth century.

The Senator,, played a major role in reviving the Republicans and turning North Carolina into a two-party state. Under his banner, many conservative Democrats in the central and eastern parts of North Carolina left the Democrats and began to vote increasingly Republican, at least at the national level. In part, this was due to dissatisfaction with the national Democratic Party's stance on the issues of and, and later to the leftward tilt on social issues such as prayer in school, ,  rights, and. From 1968–2004 (excepting 's ), North Carolina has voted Republican in every presidential election. At the state level, however, the Democrats still control most of the elected offices in the state government, and state and local elections are highly competitive compared to previous historical eras (for example, eastern North Carolina routinely elects a sizable number of Republican sheriffs and county commissioners, which did not happen until the 1980s). The Republicans hold both U.S. Senate seats, but the Democrats retain the governorship, majorities in both houses of the state legislature, state supreme court, and a 7-6 majority of U.S. House seats as of January 2007.

Modern North Carolina politics center less around the old east-west geographical split, and more on a growing urban-suburban-rural divide. Many of the state's rural and small-town areas, are now heavily Republican, while growing urban centers such as, , and  are increasingly Democratic. The suburban areas around the cities usually hold the power, and vote both ways. Three were born and raised in North Carolina, but all three men began their political careers in neighboring, and were elected President from that state. The three men were, , and.

North Carolina remains a. This is probably due to the state's strongly conservative Protestant heritage. Four of the state's counties - Clay, Graham, Mitchell, and Yancey, which are all located in areas - remain "" (the sale of alcoholic beverages is illegal). However, the remaining 96 North Carolina counties allow the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, as is the case in most of the United States. Even in rural areas, the opposition to selling and drinking alcoholic beverages is declining, as the decreasing number of "dry" counties indicates.

North Carolina is one of the 12 states to decriminalize marijuana. In 1997 Marijuana and Tetrahydrocannabinols were moved from a schedule I to schedule IV. Transfer of less than 5 grams is not considered sale, and up to 1 1/2 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or community service, at the judge's discretion, rather than imprisonment or a felony charge.

In 2005, the state legislature voted to implement a, thus altering North Carolina's reputation as the "anti-" state, where owning a lottery ticket from another state was once a felony. By 2005, every state surrounding North Carolina had a lottery in operation. The began selling tickets on,. The lottery has had unexpectedly low sales since its inception.

Elementary and secondary education
Elementary and secondary public schools are overseen by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, which is headed by the, who is also secretary of the. This body holds most of the legal authority for making public education policy. North Carolina has 115 public school systems, each of which is overseen by a local school board. A county may have one or more systems within it. The largest school systems in North Carolina are the ,,, ,and. The state has also established, which fall outside the ordinary structure.

Colleges and universities

 * For more details on this topic, see 

In 1795, North Carolina opened the first public university in the United States - the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. More than 200 years later, the encompasses 16 public universities including the three largest, , and. The system also supports several well-known such as, , and. Along with its public universities, North Carolina has 58 public s in its.

North Carolina's and colleges include , , , , and.

Professional sports
Despite having over eight million people, North Carolina's population being spread out over three major metropolitan areas precluded attracting any     teams until the late 1980s. The first franchise from a major professional sports league to be created in North Carolina were the, which began play in the 1987-1988 NBA season. North Carolina remains without a team despite numerous efforts to attract a team to the state (including the 2006 push to relocate the  to Charlotte). North Carolina lacks its own team, and only one neighboring state (equally sized Georgia) has a team, the.

On, , the , a franchise based in Raleigh, won the. The Hurricanes are the first professional sports team from North Carolina to win their sport's highest championship. Home games are played in the, which was named by the. The (NFL) is represented by the, who play home games in the  in Charlotte. The NBA is represented by the ; home games are played in the in Charlotte. The are a men's professional soccer team in the, due to compete in their first season in 2007. Home field is the in. North Carolina was home to the now defunct teams the  from 1992 to 1996 and the  from 2000 to 2004. The Rage's home games were played in the. The Cobras' home games were played in the RBC Center from 2000 to 2002. They then moved to the Charlotte Coliseum until being terminated by the league. The (NIFL) is represented by the Fayetteville Guard who plays at Crown Coliseum.

The state is also a center of American, with more than 80% of racing teams and related industries located in the Piedmont region. The largest race track in North Carolina is the in  where the NASCAR's  holds three major races each year. NASCAR recently began construction on the will open late 2008 in. There are also many motocross and off-road races in North Carolina. Many of NASCAR's most famous driver dynasties, the Pettys, Earnhardts, Allisons, Jarretts and Waltrips all live within an hour of Charlotte.

From the 1930s to the early 1990s, the Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion, under the Crockett family, operated almost entirely out of Charlotte. Mid Atlantic was a long-time member of the and many of their top stars appeared on national television on NWA and later WCW events. Many retired or still-current wrestlers live in the Charlotte/Lake Norman area, including, , and.

North Carolina has become a hot bed for professional. It is the home of the 1995 World Champion Bull Rider Jerome Davis. It is also home to several professional stock contractors and bull owners including Thomas Teague of Teague Bucking Bulls. The Southern Extreme Bull Riding Association headquarters are located in.

The North Carolina Association hosts 16 races each year throughout North Carolina. In addition, the series makes two stops in North Carolina, in  and, the only other state to host 2 GNCCs is. For sport amateurs, the state holds the each year.

North Carolina is a state known for minor league sports, notably the setting of the 1987 comedy  about the of the class A. The state boasts over 30 minor league baseball teams in six different, including the triple-A teams in Charlotte and Durham. There is a number of indoor, indoor , minor league , and ice hockey teams throughout the state. North Carolina has became a top destination for players across the nation, notably in, and the community of  of  which is home to over 50 golf courses.

Recreation
Due to geography, rich history, and growing industry, North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities from at the  to  in the s. North Carolina offers, freshwater and saltwater , , , ,  trails, , , , , ,  and , , ,  (spelunking), s, and s.  North Carolina has s, s, s, s, s, s, elegant s, s, and.

North Carolinians enjoy outdoor recreation utilizing numerous local bike paths, 34, and 14 , including:


 * at
 * in
 * at
 * in
 * near
 * in
 * at
 * in
 * near
 * in
 * in
 * in
 * in

Famous food and drinks from North Carolina
A nationally-famous from North Carolina is pork. However, there are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and method of preparation used in making the barbecue. Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a -based sauce; the "capital" of eastern Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of, near. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a -based sauce; the "capital" of western Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of, south of. A third type of pork barbecue in North Carolina is "Shelby" barbecue, so named because it is made in the town of. Shelby pork barbecue uses a [ketchup,vinegar combination]-based sauce. North Carolina is the birthplace of, it was first produced in 1890 in. Another popular created and still based in the state is. , a popular chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in. Despite its name, the hotsauce was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are in Winston-Salem. The fast-food chain was started in. Another fast-food chain,, was started in , and has its corporate headquarters there.

Ships named for the state
The, a World War II battleship, was named in honor of the state. Now decommissioned, it is part of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington. The ship served in several battles against the forces of Imperial Japan in the Pacific theater of World War Two. Another, a nuclear attack submarine, is to be commissioned in 2007.

State symbols



 * ''': ' ("To be, rather than to seem") (1893)
 * : "" (1927)
 * : (1941)
 * : (1943)
 * : the red and blue of the and  flags (1945)
 * State toast:  (1957)
 * : (1963)
 * : (1965)
 * : (1969)
 * : (also known as the ) (1971)
 * : (1973)
 * : (1973)
 * : (1979)
 * : (1979)
 * : (1987)
 * State historical boat: (1987)
 * State language: (1987)
 * State dog: (1989)
 * State military academy: (1991)
 * State tartan: Carolina tartan (1991)
 * : (1995)
 * : (2001)
 * : (2001)
 * : (2001)
 * : (2003)
 * State Christmas tree: (2005)
 * State carnivorous plant: (2005)
 * : (2005)
 * : (2005)
 * State freshwater trout: (2005)
 * State birthplace of traditional pottery: (2005)

Armed Forces installations
According to Governor Easley, North Carolina is the "Most military friendly state in the nation". , near is the largest and most comprehensive  in the United States and is the headquarters of the, , and the. Serving as the airwing for Fort Bragg is also located near Fayetteville, NC. which, when combined with nearby Marine bases, MCAS New River, Camp Geiger, Camp Johnson, Stone Bay and Courthouse Bay, makes up the largest concentration of Marines and sailors in the world. in Cherry Point, NC is home of the MC, USN F/A-18 Hornet, and USN squadrons  is located in Goldsboro, NC. Also at this base is the Special Mission Training Center. One of the largest concentration of is at. Other Coast Guard stations include, CG Station Hobuken, CG Station Oregon Inlet, CG Station Emerald Isle, CG Station Hatteras, CG Station Oak Island, CG Station Wrightsville Beach, and CG Station Ocracoke. Also there is the CG Base Fort Macon located at Atlantic Beach. There is a Marine Safety Unit located in Wilmington.

<!-- Not pertinent

Interesting city names
Towns/areas with interesting names:
 * (in, near )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (in and  along the ), so named for the updrafts rising from the Johns River Gorge around a rock pinnacle at the southern edge of town.
 * (near in )
 * (in, near )
 * (in )
 * (in ), often humorously referred to as a false acronym for "Concentrated Area of Relocated "
 * (in )
 * (in, near )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (Brunswick County)
 * (Carteret County)
 * (in )
 * (in, near )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * Leatherman, (in )
 * , home of racing legend
 * (in, near )
 * (in, off NC 194 between Boone and Blowing Rock.
 * (in, was the inspiration for in the popular TV program , and is Griffith's birthplace)
 * (in )
 * , near both its and Mount Airy, referenced on The Andy Griffith Show as "Mount Pilot".
 * , also near Pilot Mountain
 * , near in, ironically located near
 * , a "suburb" of (Brunswick County)
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (west of Snow Hill, NC)
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (in, near Mount Airy)
 * (in )
 * (in )
 * (near )

Cities/towns/villages with names of major U.S. cities:
 * ( or )
 * ( or )
 * ( or )
 * ( or )
 * ( or )
 * ( or )
 * ( or )

Government and education

 * North Carolina state government
 * North Carolina state library
 * USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of North Carolina
 * North Carolina facts from US Department of Agriculture ERS
 * North Carolina Court System official site
 * North Carolina facts from US Census Bureau
 * North Carolina Travel and Tourism Website
 * NC ECHO - North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online
 * North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
 * Green 'N' Growing: The History of Home Demonstration and 4-H Youth Development in North Carolina - hosted by NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center
 * NC Office of Archives and History
 * NC Museum of History

Other links

 * Old Growth Forest Wilderness Areas in Western North Carolina
 * Old Growth Forest Wilderness Areas in Eastern North Carolina
 * The Appalachian Trail
 * Updates of statewide trends since publication of The North Carolina Atlas in 2000
 * North Carolina Information
 * Lost Colony Blog
 * Interactive North Carolina for Kids
 * Interactive North Carolina for Kids