Proper noun

Singular North Carolina

Plural -

North Carolina

1. A state of the United States of America situated on the east coast of the North American mainland north of South Carolina and south of Virginia. Capital: Raleigh.

Derived terms

• North Carolinan
• North Carolinian
• NC

North Carolina ( / ˌ n ɔr θ k ær ə ˈ l aɪ n ə /) is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the Southern 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. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte.

Spanish colonial forces were the first Europeans to make a permanent settlement in the area, when the Juan Pardo-led Expedition built Fort San Juan in 1567. This was sited at Joara, a Mississippian culture regional chiefdom near present-day Morganton in the western interior. This was 20 years before the English established their first colony at Roanoke Island. North Carolina became one of the English Thirteen Colonies, and was originally known as Province of Carolina.

On May 20, 1861, North Carolina was one of the last of the Confederate states to declare secession from the Union, to which it was readmitted twice, once under the presidential reconstruction of Lincoln as the same body politic, the second time as a different body politic by Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, General Order. 120, Headquarters 2nd Military District, Charleston, S.C., June 30th, 1868, thru Congressional reconstruction; Reconstruction Acts (1,2,3,4), the 4th Reconstruction Act requiring the adoption of the 14h Amendment and the surrender of governor elect Johnathan Worth.

The state was the location of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, at Kill Devil Hills, approximately 6.4 miles (10.3 km) south of Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. It is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of July 1, 2009, the population was estimated to be 9,380,884 (a 16.7% increase since April 1, 2000). Recognizing eight Native American tribes, North Carolina has the largest population of Native Americans of any state east of the Mississippi River.

North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet (2,037 m) in the mountains. The coastal plains are strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone. More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate.

Between 2007 and 2008, North Carolina was the third-fastest growing state in the United States, and the fastest growing state east of the Mississippi River.