Landforms of North Carolina

1. Landforms of North Carolina

3. Coastal Plain • low, flat land along the Atlantic Ocean • divided into two parts - the Outer Coastal Plain and the Inner Coastal Plain • Outer Coastal Plain is made up of the Outer Banks and the Tidewater region • Outer Banks - a string of barrier islands separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets • largest islands are Bodie, Hatteras, Ocracoke, Portsmouth, and the Core Banks • Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear • Cape Hatteras is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic because shifting sand has caused many ships to run aground • Stretch more than 175 miles along the coast • Tidewater Region is the area along the coast close to sea level • There are seven sounds - Pamlico, Albemarle, Currituck, Croatan, Roanoke, Core, and Bogue • Characterized by wetlands • Only place in the world where the Venus Flytrap plant grows naturally • Inner Coastal Plain - higher, drier area west of the Tidewater • rich, sandy soil is some of the state's best farmland • southwestern corner of the Inner Coastal Plain are the Sandhills, a subregion of rolling, sandy hills • Longleaf pines are native to this area.

5. Piedmont • Middle region of the state, located between the Coastal Plain and the Mountain regions • Name comes from French word meaning "foot of the mountain” • Monadnocks- outcrops of more resistant rock standing above mostly level terrain leveled by erosion and weathering • Pilot Mountain • Fall line (fall zone) - boundary between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont • rivers flow from the Paleozoic plateau of the Piedmont to the softer rocks of the Coastal Plain • Below the fall line, streams are usually sluggish and smooth-flowing. • Above the fall line, the streams are rocky and shallow, making boating difficult

7. Mountains • Western part of the state • Blue Ridge Mountains separate the Piedmont from the Mountain region • Other ranges include the Bald, Balsam, Black, Brushy, Great Smoky, Iron, Pisgah, Stone, and Unaka which are part of the Appalachian Mountains (over 480 million years old) • possibly the oldest mountains in the United States • Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountain range is 6, 684 feet high • Highest point in North Carolina and the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River • Eastern Continental Divide runs along the Appalachian Mountains and separates east and west flowing rivers • Rivers on the eastern side of the divide flow east toward the Atlantic Ocean • Rivers that run on the western side of the divide flow toward the Tennessee and Ohio rivers and into the Gulf of Mexico

9. Agriculture and Industry

10. Coastal Plain • Agriculture • Tobacco • Sweet potato • Cotton • Peanuts • Blueberries • Watermelon • Industry • Wood pulp production/Lumber • Tourism/Recreation • Fishing and shellfish • Hogs

11. Piedmont • Agriculture • Wheat • Corn • Various vegetables • Industry • Research and Development • Technology • Tourism/Recreation • Poultry (meat and eggs) • Cattle

12. Mountains • Agriculture • Christmas trees (2nd largest in US) • Trout • Apples • Industry • Nursery and Greenhouse • Aquaculture • Tourism/Recreation