US and NC Geog Notes

1. North Carolina and the United States Geography

2. 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 .

3. 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.

4. Climate Zones of USA Tropical Mediterranean Cool Summer Humid Subtropical Warm Summer Semiarid Desert

5. Regions of the USA Southwest Midwest West Northeast Southeast

6. 4 Regions of North Carolina

7. Tidewater Region

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. Coastal Plain Sandhills Fertile Soil

12. 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 .

13. Piedmont Clay Soil

14. 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

15. Mountains

16. 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

17. North Carolina Neuse River Cape Fear River Tar River Atlantic Ocean Pamlico Sound Albemarle Sound New Bern Wilmington Raleigh Greensboro

18. North Carolina Appalachian Mountains Charlotte Ashville

19. North Carolina Tennessee South Carolina Virginia Georgia

20. The United States Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mexico Mexico Pacific Ocean Great Lakes Canada

21. The United States Houston New York Boston San Francisco Colorado River Chicago Miami New Orleans Raleigh Rio Grande River

22. Other Major US Rivers Ohio River Missouri River Mississippi River