NORTH CAROLINA

Past, Present and Future

Geography• North Carolina is a southern state• Borders Virginia to the north, South Carolina

to the south, Tennessee on the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east

• Coastal Plan makes up 45% • Piedmont Region makes up 35%• Appalachian Mountains and foothills

Climate• The coastal plain is influenced by the Atlantic

Ocean keeps temperatures mild in the winter (40-60) and moderate in the summer (89).

• The Atlantic Ocean has less of an influence on the Piedmont Region which has hotter summer (90-100) and colder winters (40 or below)

• Appalachian Mountains are the coldest with daytime highs only in the 30’s.

History• 1567 : Spanish colonial forces were

the first to settle.• 1729 : Once known as The

Province of Carolina, the northern and southern parts separated.

• 1781 : General Cornwallis won the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, present day Greensboro.

• 1789 : North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the constitution.

• 1861 : First Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil war was from North Carolina.

• 1861 : Last of the Confederate States to declare secession from the union.

• 1865 : North Carolina regiment fired the last shots to end Civil War.

• 1865: End of the war, slavery was abolished

• 1903 : Wright Brother flew the first plane at Kitty Hawk

• 1996 : Divers found a bronze bell dated 1705, an English musket gun barrel, and 18th century cannons and cannon balls belonging to the Queen Anne’s Revenge. This ship belonged to Black Beard

Demographics• White 68.5%• African American 21.5%• Hispanic or Latino 8.4% • Asian 2.2%• Pacific Outlander 0.1%• Some other race 4.3%• Two or more races 2.2%• Largest city is Charlotte with a population of 731,424• Jacksonville carries the smallest with only 70,145

Economy

• Covers 15 metropolitan areas• 2010 : North Carolina’s total gross state

product was $424.9 billion• 2010 : Was chosen the third best state for

business by Forbes Magazine.• 2011 : The civilian labor force was around 4.5

million. Employment nearing 4.1 million.

There are many types of transportation in North Carolina• Air • Water• Public Transportation

• Road• Rail

Colleges and Universities

This system also includes several historic African American colleges and universities :

• North Carolina A&T State University• North Carolina Central University• Winston – Salem University• Elizabeth City State University• Fayetteville State University

North Carolina is also home to many well known private colleges and universities :

• Duke University• Wake Forest University• Davidson College• Elon University• Guilford College

First school for young women in the south

• Salem College

In 1795, North Carolina opened the first public university in the United States, University of North Carolina (currently known as the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill). Since then UNC has open several public universities in several areas : • East Carolina• Western Carolina • Asheville• Charlotte• Greensboro• Pembroke• Wilmington• School of the Arts• Appalachian State University

SportsNorth Carolina competes on every level of competition in the United States.• NASCAR• NBA• NFL• NHL• Indoor football• Indoor soccer• Minor League basketball• Minor League ice hockey

Attractions• Carowinds• Merlefest• Brushy Mountain Apple Festive• Concord Mills• Mall at Millenia• Charlotte Motor Speedway• Wet’ n Wild Emerald Point• Biltmore Estates• Light houses• Aquariums• 34 state parks• 14 national parks

MusicDifferent Genre of North Carolina

• North Carolina is famous for its traditions in old time folk music. Earliest recordings dated early 20th century.

• Country music in the late 1920’s.

• Blue’s originated in Winston Salem.

• The Triangle Area is well known center for punk, jazz, metal, rock and folk.

Famous musicians from North Carolina

• Roberta Flack• Randy Travis• Clay Aiken• Fantasia Barrino• Kellie Pickler• Bucky Covington• Chris Daughtery• Anoop Desai• Scotty McCreery

Ships of the State• USS North Carolina, a World War II battleship. This

ship served in several battles against the forces of Imperial Japan in the Pacific Theater during the war. Now decommissioned it is part of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington.

• USS North Carolina, a nuclear attack submarine, was commissioned in Wilmington, NC on May 3, 2008

State Symbols• Motto : Esse quam videri

(To be rather than to seem)

• Song : The Old North State

• Flower : Dogwood• Bird : Cardinal• Gemstone : Emerald• Rock : Granite• Sport : NASCAR

Take your next vacation in North Carolina

Tiffany Worrell