North Carolina
State of North Carolina
Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): Tar Heel State; Old North State;
Down east; Land of the pines
Motto(s): Esse quam videri (Latin); First in
Flight
before statehood, known as
the Province of North Carolina
Official
language(s)
English
Demonym
North Carolinian; Tar Heel
(colloq.)
Capital
Raleigh
Largest city
Charlotte
Largest metro
area
Charlotte metro area
Area
Ranked 28th in the US
- Total
53,865 sq mi
(139,509 km²)
- Width
150 miles (340 km)
- Length
560[1] miles (900 km)
- % water
9.5
- Latitude
33°50′ N to 36°35′ N
- Longitude
75°28′ W to 84°19′ W
Population
Ranked 10th in the US
- Total
9,222,414 (2008 est.)[2]
- Density
165.24/sq mi (63.80/km²)
Ranked 15th in the US
Elevation
- Highest point
Mt. Mitchell[3]
6,684 ft (2,038 m)
- Mean
705 ft (215 m)
- Lowest point
Atlantic Ocean[3]
0 ft (0 m)
Admission to
Union
November 21, 1789 (12th)
Governor
Beverly Perdue (D)
Lieutenant
Governor
Walter H. Dalton (D)
U.S. Senators
Richard Burr (R)
Kay Hagan (D)
U.S. House
delegation
8 Democrats, 5
Republicans (list)
Time zone
Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations
NC US-NC
Website
www.nc.gov
A map of the State of North Carolina
North Carolina (
/ˌnɔrθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ ) is
a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in
the southeastern United States. The state
borders South Carolina and Georgia to the
south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to
the north. North Carolina contains 100
counties and its capital is Raleigh.
North Carolina was one of the original
Thirteen Colonies, originally known as Caro-
lina. Joara, a native village near present-day
Morganton, was the site in 1567 of Fort San
Juan, the first Spanish colonial settlement in
the interior of what became the United
States.[4] A colony was later established at
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North Carolina
1
Roanoke Island, the first attempt by the Eng-
lish to found a settlement in the Americas.[5]
On May 20, 1861, North Carolina was one
of the last of the Confederate states to de-
clare secession from the Union, to which it
was restored on Ju