| State of North Carolina | |
| Coordinates | 35°30’NB, 80°0’WL |
| General | |
| Surface | 139.509 km² (9,5% water) |
| Residents | 9.656.401 (76,5 inhabitants/km²) |
| Capital city | Raleigh |
| Politics | |
| Governor | Roy Cooper (D) |
| Other | |
| Time zone | Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5) |
| Joined | 21 november 1789 |
| Nickname | Tar Heel State |
| Website | nc.gov |
North Carolina (Dutch: North Carolina) is one of the southern states of the United States. It was one of the original thirteen states to create the Union and to free themselves from British colonial rule. The state is bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west on the other side of the mountains, and Georgia and South Carolina to the south. North Carolina is located to the east on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Both Carolinas were originally named after King Charles I of England. The capital of North Carolina is Raleigh.
History
The Cherokee
The original inhabitants of the Americas were American Indians, including the Cherokee, who are considered to be among the Five Civilized Nations. Around 1830 they were forced to ‘move’ to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma, and this grueling journey cost many lives. However, some of them managed to hold their own in the inhospitable mountains on the western side of the state, and others returned later. Their descendants still live in the state. In the 19th century, the surviving members of the tribe bought an area of 570 km² known as the Qualla Boundaryto re-establish their sovereign tribal bond there. So this is not a reservation in the sense that the land has been granted to them by the US government. The heritage of the tribe still exists and attracts many visitors. There is even another educational center, the New Kituwah Language Academy, which only teaches Cherokee.
The British
The area was the first area where the British attempted to establish a colony in the 1580s at the hands of Sir Walter Raleigh, after whom the state capital is named. His settlements on Roanoke Island —the first in the new land—were not heard of later, however. Subsequent settlements were best known for their production of turpentine and wood tar from the pine forests. There is a Tar river and the inhabitants of the state are still known as Tar heels. In the 18th centurya number of settlements were founded and in 1712 the colony was split into north and south. The two parts have a fairly different character to this day.
After Independence
South Carolina was a slave state par excellence and the first state to secede from the Union, starting the American Civil War. North Carolina did not secede until all its neighbors did, and reluctantly, in 1861. Ironically, the surrender of the south took place in this very state, and the state suffered greatly from the Civil War.
Near the village of Kitty Hawk, the first powered flight was made in 1903 by the Wright brothers.
The Reconstruction and the Jim Crow years after with renewed repression of the black population followed. The state was lagging behind the rest of the country. It was mainly an area of tobacco growers and poverty. That only changed after 1960. The changes made by the Civil Rights Movement have been quite smooth compared to other states in the South where tensions were running high. In 1960, the Greensboro sit-ins took place. A technological change of major importance to the entire South and also to North Carolina was the arrival of air conditioning. Without this equipment, the summer months are a time when hard work is a tough task, it is too hot and humid for that.
After the 1960s, technology made its appearance. Between the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary, the Research Triangle Park with its many advanced research institutions sprang up, and the Triangle (the triangular ‘edge city’) of the state became a sizable metropolis.
Geography
According to JIBIN123.COM, the state of North Carolina is sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean to the east with a wadden coast called the ‘ Outer Banks ‘ and the Smoky Mountains to the west that resemble the Ardennes or Vosges, although they are quite inaccessible in places. In between is a hilly landscape that is fairly heavily mixed wooded. Towards the coast, the landscape changes into lowlands with peat bogs called pocosin.
The climate is warm and humid in summer with temperatures hovering around 35-37 °C. In winter there can be snow or ice, but it doesn’t get really cold. There is quite a lot of precipitation, about 1350 mm per year. Humidity is high and the state is occasionally ravaged by hurricanes and whirlwinds. The climate is also characterized by relatively large temperature fluctuations from day to day (from cold to warm to cold within a week, for example).
State Capitol in Raleigh (photo: J. Folmer 2003)
Administrative division
According to COUNTRYAAH, North Carolina is divided into 100 counties.
| County | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
County Seat | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
| Alamance | 145.360 | Graham | 14.390 |
| Alexander | 36.396 | Taylorsville | 1822 |
| Alleghany | 10.915 | Sparta | 1783 |
| Anson | 25.202 | Wadesboro | 5104 |
| Ashe | 25.531 | Jefferson | 1363 |
| Avery | 17.776 | Newland | 654 |
| Beaufort | 45.771 | Washington | 10.055 |
| Bertie | 18.601 | Windsor | 2132 |
| Bladen | 32.301 | Elizabethtown | 3773 |
| Brunswick | 99.214 | Bolivia | 182 |
| Buncombe | 226.771 | Asheville | 73.875 |
| Burke | 88.975 | Morganton | 17.108 |
| Cabarrus | 163.262 | Concord | 64.653 |
| Caldwell | 79.454 | Lenoir | 17.876 |
| Camden | 9490 | Camden | |
| Carteret | 63.238 | Beaufort | 4192 |
| Caswell | 23.261 | Yanceyville | 2125 |
| Catawba | 155.646 | Newton | 13.284 |
| Chatham | 61.455 | Pittsboro | 2543 |
| Cherokee | 26.499 | Murphy | 1565 |
| Chowan | 14.635 | Edenton | 4992 |
| Clay | 10.238 | Hayesville | 462 |
| Cleveland | 98.453 | Shelby | 21.351 |
| Columbus | 54.046 | Whiteville | 5218 |
| Craven | 96.746 | New Bern | 28.170 |
| Cumberland | 306.518 | Fayetteville | 171.853 |
| Currituck | 23.960 | Currituck | |
| Dare | 33.776 | Manteo | 1296 |
| Davidson | 156.530 | Lexington | 20.338 |
| Davie | 40.516 | Mocksville | 4587 |
| Duplin | 52.979 | Kenansville | 900 |
| Durham | 256.500 | Durham | 217.847 |
| Edgecombe | 52.647 | Tarboro | 10.296 |
| Forsyth | 338.774 | Winston-Salem | 215.348 |
| Franklin | 57.222 | Louisburg | 3698 |
| Gaston | 202.535 | Gastonia | 71.059 |
| Gates | 11.737 | Gatesville | 303 |
| Graham | 7858 | Robbinsville | 703 |
| Granville | 55.045 | Oxford | 8602 |
| Greene | 20.405 | Snow Hill | 1577 |
| Guilford | 465.931 | Greensboro | 247.183 |
| Halifax | 55.060 | Halifax | 328 |
| Harnett | 108.721 | Lillington | 3215 |
| Haywood | 56.430 | Waynesville | 9879 |
| Henderson | 100.810 | Hendersonville | 11.953 |
| Hertford | 23.206 | Winton | 898 |
| Hoke | 42.422 | Raeford | 3455 |
| Hyde | 5172 | Swan Quarter | |
| Iredell | 151.445 | Statesville | 26.122 |
| Jackson | 36.751 | Sylva | 2428 |
| Johnston | 157.437 | Smithfield | 12.544 |
| Jones | 10.127 | Trenton | 262 |
| Lee | 57.973 | Sanford | 28.675 |
| Lenoir | 56.761 | Kinston | 22.346 |
| Lincoln | 73.106 | Lincolnton | 10.703 |
| Macon | 32.608 | Franklin | 3938 |
| Madison | 20.309 | Marshall | 831 |
| Martin | 23.598 | Williamston | 5423 |
| McDowell | 43.537 | Marion | 5092 |
| Mecklenburg | 867.067 | Charlotte | 671.588 |
| Mitchell | 15.786 | Bakersville | 351 |
| Montgomery | 27.451 | Troy | 3386 |
| Moore | 84.435 | Carthage | 2021 |
| Nash | 92.949 | Nashville | 4580 |
| New Hanover | 190.432 | Wilmington | 99.623 |
| Northampton | 20.830 | Jackson | 651 |
| Onslow | 162.745 | Jacksonville | 74.614 |
| Orange | 124.313 | Hillsborough | 5551 |
| Pamlico | 12.577 | Bayboro | 695 |
| Pasquotank | 40.543 | Elizabeth City | 19.505 |
| Pender | 49.865 | Burgaw | 4068 |
| Perquimans | 12.498 | Hertford | 2140 |
| Person | 37.356 | Roxboro | 8684 |
| Pitt | 152.068 | Greenville | 76.058 |
| Polk | 19.036 | Columbus | 979 |
| Randolph | 140.145 | Asheboro | 24.176 |
| Richmond | 45.985 | Rockingham | 8887 |
| Robeson | 128.149 | Lumberton | 21.763 |
| Rockingham | 92.421 | Wentworth | 2761 |
| Rowan | 137.383 | Salisbury | 28.736 |
| Rutherford | 63.012 | Rutherfordton | 4031 |
| Sampson | 63.641 | Clinton | 8847 |
| Scotland | 36.364 | Laurinburg | 15.493 |
| Stanly | 59.195 | Albemarle | 15.483 |
| Stokes | 46.072 | Danbury | 112 |
| Surry | 72.380 | Dobson | 1455 |
| Swain | 13.643 | Bryson City | 1391 |
| Transylvania | 29.984 | Brevard | 6687 |
| Tyrrell | 4121 | Columbia | 801 |
| Union | 184.675 | Monroe | 31.633 |
| Vance | 42.992 | Henderson | 15.897 |
| Wake | 832.970 | Raleigh | 375.806 |
| Warren | 19.410 | Warrenton | 740 |
| Washington | 12.915 | Plymouth | 3589 |
| Watauga | 44.541 | Boone | 13.843 |
| Wayne | 113.590 | Goldsboro | 37.639 |
| Wilkes | 66.844 | Wilkesboro | 3171 |
| Wilson | 76.754 | Wilson | 47.804 |
| Yadkin | 37.797 | Yadkinville | 2860 |
| Yancey | 18.456 | Burnsville | 1644 |
Politics
The executive branch of the state is headed by a governor, who is directly elected by the voters in the state. The current governor of North Carolina is Democrat Roy Cooper, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2017.
The legislature is made up of the North Carolina House of Representatives (North Carolina House of Representatives) with 120 members and the North Carolina Senate (North Carolina Senate) with 50 members.
Media
The television series One Tree Hill is set in North Carolina, in the fictional town of Tree Hill.
From North Carolina
- James Polk (1795-1849), President of the USA.
- Andrew Johnson (1808-1875), President of the USA.
- Max Roach (1924-2007), muzikant.
- Chuck Brown (1936-2012), muzikant.
- Don Schollander (1944), swimmer.
Miscellaneous
- North Carolina is sometimes referred to as “the Old North State”. The plural “Old North states” refers to the 23 northern states.
