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North Carolina [now: rθkerəla in ʹnə], abbreviated NC, US
state; 139,000 km2, 10.4 million inhabitants (2018).North Carolina is
one of the southern states. The capital is Raleigh.
North Carolina. State Map.
Nature
North Carolina has three clearly defined topographic areas. The western part
consists of the Appalachians, which reach their highest altitude in
Mount Mitchell (2,037 m above sea level) and which largely consist of
metamorphic rocks.
Central North Carolina is part of the Piedmont Plateau, which
consists predominantly of deodorized crystalline rocks and forms a scenic
landscape with elevations around 200-500 meters above sea level.
The coastal plain consists of muddy and sandy deposits; it has a
ridge shore with deeply cut bays and elongated sandy reefs.
North Carolina. The beach strips at Cape Hatteras.
North Carolina has a subtropical climate in its eastern parts. The
temperature decreases westward with the height above the sea. Charlotte on the
Piedmont Plateau has an average temperature in January of +5 °C and in July of
+26 ° C. The annual rainfall is just over 1,000 mm.
Population
North Carolina has for a long time had a stable population growth, during the
00s the population increased by an average of about 2 percent per year. About 71
percent of the population is white, and 22 percent are African American. Despite
the industry's strong position, nearly half of North Carolina's population
resides in rural areas, and work commuting is extensive.
The largest urban regions are Charlotte – Concord – Gastonia (2.5 million
inhabitants, 2016), Raleigh (1.3 million) and Greensboro – High Point (756 100
inhabitants). Capital city in western North Carolina is Asheville (88,500
residents, 452,300).
Business
North Carolina's most important industry is the industry, which is largely
based on products from agriculture and forestry. Agriculture's main crop was
once cotton, but now tobacco dominates (2/5 of US production). The industry is
located in an area from Charlotte over Winston-Salem, High Point and Greensboro
to Durham and Raleigh. The largest importance is the tech- nology (in Greensboro
and Charlotte region) and the tobacco industries (in Winston-Salem and Durham).
Otherwise there is a diverse industry, such as biochemistry and medicine
companies, originating from extensive research and development efforts made in
North Carolina. The main project is the "Research Triangle Park" built in the
Raleigh – Durham – Chapel Hill area with strong ties to Duke University.
Tourism and gastronomy
North Carolina is not a distinct tourist state, but in some regions tourism
plays a significant role. This is especially true of the Appalachian mountain
areas to the west as well as parts of the coastal zone, such as the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park around the Tennessee border and the beautiful Blue Ridge
Parkway, which extends from there to the Shenandoah Park in Virginia.
North Carolina. Blue Ridge Parkway at Blowing Rock
in central North Carolina.
The main destination on the Atlantic coast is Cape Hatteras National
Seashore, an archipelago of more than 100 km, which continues north. There is
Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, the place where the Wright brothers made their
first flight in 1903.
In North Carolina there are also a number of battlefields, from both the
Freedom War and the Civil War. Literally interested may visit author Carl
Sandburg's home 40 km south of Asheville in the westernmost part of the state.
In North Carolina, much of the old Southern state food lives on. Pork is
popular, usually served as barbequed pork, eastern with a sauce of
beer, mustard, pepper and vinegar, or country ham and red-eye gravy (rice with
coffee and crispy pork cubes) for rice or corn cakes. The fish muddle contains
no milk, which is an unusual trait in North America. Benne wafers (flirt
with sesame seeds, a recipe introduced by African slaves) and especially sweet
potato pie are popular desserts.
History
North Carolina was colonized in the 1650s, when settlers moved there from
Virginia, and in 1729 became the British Crown Colony. North Carolina was one of
the 13 states that formed the United States in 1776. During the Civil War
(1861–65), North Carolina took a long stand for the South.
Agriculture, mainly tobacco and rice, was a major industry for a long
time. From the 1870s, North Carolina underwent a modernization process following
the expansion of the railroad network and developed into the most industrialized
state in the South.
Politically, racial issues have been dominant in the 20th century, though not
as inflamed as in many other southern states. The Democrats have long been the
dominant party but are now relatively equal to the Republicans.
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