•AKA: How does Geography affect history?

North Carolina has 3 different geographic regions.

The mountain(s) region covers 12% of the state.

The Piedmont region covers 44%. The Coastal Plain covers the remaining 44%. The Coastal Plain is divided into 2 areas: The

Tidewater and the Inner Coastal Plain.

The fall line separates the piedmont from the Coastal plain.

It runs from Richmond County to Halifax County.

This “imaginary” line marks where the sandy soil of the Coastal plain meets the more rocky soil of the Piedmont.

It marks places on NC rivers where “falls” are first found.

This area extends 20 to 30 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

Even Jacksonville is in the Coastal Plain, it is considered part of the Tidewater as well.

Other cities along the area include: Elizabeth City, New Bern, Bath, Washington, Wilmington, and Southport.

This area stretches from the Tidewater to the “Fall Line”.

This area is the main agriculture region.

Today the area holds some of the best golf courses in North Carolina.

This area is home to many colleges and universities.

3 of them are East Carolina, UNC-Pembroke, and Fayetteville State.

The Outer banks are the barrier islands along our coast.

The capes are the parts of the islands that extend into the ocean.

They are Cape Fear, Cape Lookout, and Cape Hatteras.

This region stretches from the “Fall line” to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It contains most of our more “urban” cities like: Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham, and High Point.

Once an manufacturing and tobacco center, the area has diversified to include banking, research, and technology as its economic backbone.

This area is still largely rural but the region boasts a healthy tourist industry.

Its elevation extends from 1500 to 6,684 feet above sea level.

The Cherokee Indian Reservation now has a large casino and entertainment center.

Asheville is the largest city and cultivates a growing arts and music industry.

Imagine you are a settler and you land at the coast but do not have the equipment to venture far from your ship.

How will you make use of your environment and geography to survive?

If successful, how would your descendents likely make their living?

How would this change if you traveled into the Coastal Plain?

Now consider the Piedmont.Now consider the Mountain. How might this change or alter your

culture?