North Carolina and the

United States Geography

Vocabulary Region: A specific area where the lay of the land and the

habits of the people are much the same.

Climate: A characteristic of a region used to describe its long-term atmospheric conditions.

Tidewater Region: A North Carolina region that has sandy soil, barrier islands, sounds, and its main economy is dependent on tourism and fishing.

Coastal Plain Region: A North Carolina region that has flat fertile soil, sandhills, and its main economy dependent on military bases, golfing, and agriculture.

Piedmont Region: A North Carolina region that has clay soil, pine tree forests, hilly land, the fall line, and its main economy dependent on technology, banking, and education.

Vocabulary Mountain Region: A North Carolina region that

has rocky soil, the Appalachian Mountain Range, Blue Ridge Mountains, Smoky Mountains and its main economy dependent on tourism and the Christmas tree industry.

Gulf Stream: The ocean current that runs northward along the North Carolina coast; it carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sandhills: Rolling sand ridges where little grows.

Sound: An inland body of mixed water.

Climate Zones of USA

Tropical

Med

iter

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Summ

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Humid Subtropical

Warm Summer

Sem

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Des

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Regions of the USA

Southwest

Midwest West

Northeast Southeast

4 Regions of North Carolina

Tidewater Region

Tidewater Region Borders Atlantic Ocean

Barrier Islands-Long chain of islands off the coast of NC include the most famous, Outer Banks.

The barrier islands are ever shifting and vary in size due to tides and wind patterns.

Among the barrier islands are some famous Capes in North Carolina

Cape-a pointed piece of land

that sticks out into a sea, ocean

lake, or river.

North Carolina Capes:

Cape Fear and Cape Hatteras

A sound is a wide inlet of the sea or ocean that is parallel to the coastline; it often separates a coastline from a nearby island and is usually a mixture of salt and fresh water

Major Sounds in North Carolina:

Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, Pamlico Sound, Core Sound and Bogue Sound.

The largest and deepest sound is the Pamlico Sound

Climate of the Tidewater Region:

Mild Winters and Moderate Summers make the climate of this area welcoming to visitors.

Coastal Plain

Sandhills

Fertile Soil

Coastal Plain Region Has some of the best farmland in NC due to

rich sandy soil.

Sandhills, an area of flat rolling hills part of Coastal Plain. Poorest soil in the state.

Pinehurst is a popular part of the Sandhills due to the golf courses, which is important industry in Sandhills.

Piedmont

Clay Soil

Piedmont Region Known for the red clay.

Portion of NC that we live in

Fall Line separates the Piedmont from the Coastal Plain

Distinct landform in Piedmont is the monadnocks.

Monadnocks- a point of land that stands out because all the land around it has been eroded around it.

Pilot Mountain is the most famous of these

Mountains

Mountains Mountain Region is the region furthest west

in NC.

Blue Ridge Mountains form the eastern boundary of the Appalachian Mountains.

Appalachian Mountains contain Mt.Mitchell, which is the tallest Mountain east of the Rocky Mountains.

Great Smoky Mountains another famous mountain range in NC

North Carolina

Neuse RiverCape Fear River

Tar River

Atlantic OceanPamlico Sound

Albemarle Sound

New BernWilmington

Raleigh

Greensboro

North Carolina

Appalachian Mountains

Charlotte

Ashville

North Carolina

Tennessee

South Carolina

Virginia

Georgia

The United States

Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mexico Mexico

Pacific Ocean Great Lakes Canada

The United States

Houston New York Boston San Francisco Colorado River

Chicago Miami New Orleans Raleigh Rio Grande River

Other Major US Rivers

Ohio River

Missouri River

Mississippi River