North Carolina: Land of Contrasts Chapter 1: The Lay of the Land Study Guide
Slide 1 ______North Carolina: ______Land of Contrasts ______
Chapter 1 The Lay of the Land ______Study Presentation ______©2007 Clairmont Press ______Slide 2 ______Chapter 1: The Lay of the Land ______
• Section 1: The Tidewater Region ______• Section 2: The Coastal Plain Region • Section 3: The Piedmont Region ______• Section 4: The Mountains Region • Section 5: North Carolina’s Weather and ______Climate ______Slide 3 ______Section 1: The Tidewater Region ______ESSENTIAL QUESTION – What are the major features of the ______Tidewater Region? ______Slide 4 ______Section 1: The Tidewater Region ______•What words do I need to know? 1. sound 2. barrier islands ______3. inlet 4. Gulf Stream ______5. wetland 6. estuary 7. pocosin ______8. savanna ______
Page 1 of 10 Clairmont Press North Carolina: Land of Contrasts Chapter 1: The Lay of the Land Study Guide
Slide 5 ______Section 1: The Tidewater Region ______Slide 6 ______Section 1: The Tidewater Region ______• Narrow strip of North Carolina (NC) along the Atlantic Ocean • 30-50 miles wide ______• Tides affect the region’s water • sounds: inland bodies of salt/fresh water ______mix ______Slide 7 ______Barrier Islands • Islands form the beach of the Tidewater ______• Part of a chain of sand pits sticking up out of the ocean near the shore • Most less than two miles across, barely above sea level, and ever changing due to surf and wind ______• The Outer Banks are the most famous barrier islands •At Cape Hatteras islands are widest; Jockey’s Ridge is tallest point (114’) ______• Inlets: low places in the sand; allows water from the ocean into the sound • “Graveyard of the Atlantic”: nickname for waters near Cape Hatteras – dangerous due to storms caused by ______warm Gulf Stream colliding with cold Labrador Current • Cape Fear: true break in the island chain; Cape Fear River flows directly into the Atlantic ______Slide 8 ______The Sounds • Each sound fed by fresh water ______river Largest Sounds • Oldest towns in NC near the Currituck sounds • Great location for trade along river Albemarle ______routes and ocean Pamlico • Fishing is an important industry • Sediment (soil, clay, gravel) is Core ______deposited by the rivers in the Bogue sounds – makes them too shallow for large ships ______• estuaries: salt water wetlands; these marshes are home to shellfish and shrimp ______
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Slide 9 ______Swamps and Lakes • pocosins: wetland type; Indian name means ______“swamp on a hill” – trees: laurel, bay, scrub oak – Alligator and Big Pocosin are the largest ______• savanna: wetland type – tall grasses mix with various pines ______– example: Green Swamp (home of Venus Fly Trap) • Most natural lakes in NC are in the Tidewater • Lake Mattamuskeet is largest (only 6’ deep) ______• Least populated area of the state
Click here to return to Main Menu. ______Slide 10 Section 2: The Coastal Plain ______Region Region ______ESSENTIAL QUESTION – What are the major features of the ______Coastal Plain Region? ______Slide 11 Section 2: The Coastal Plain ______Region Region ______•What words do I need to know? 1. crossroads hamlets 2. tobacco towns ______3. Carolina bays ______Slide 12 Section 2: The Coastal Plain ______Region Region ______
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Slide 13 Section 2: The Coastal Plain ______Region Region ______• Stretches from Virginia to South Carolina and about 100 miles wide • Covers about 1/3 of the state ______• Rich soil and flat land make area good for farming ______• Crossroads hamlets: serve rural areas, usually a one or two stores, church, school, etc. ______Slide 14 ______Tobacco Towns • Towns whose life and culture were dominated by tobacco ______farming • Largest tobacco growing area in the world • More than a half dozen tobacco warehouses per town ______• In mid-1900s, nearly every town in the coastal plain had at least one tobacco warehouse • Traditional tobacco barns are being replaced by computer-controlled “barns” ______• Tobacco farming is declining because of health risks associated with smoking and loss of government payments to guarantee farmers’ income ______• Longleaf pines were original plants of the region; millions of acres cut down for tobacco farming ______Slide 15 ______Carolina Bays • Carolina Bays are an unusual feature of the ______state • Hundreds of elongated depressions in the ground, from ½ to 2 miles long and a mile wide ______• Some filled with water; others are wet and mucky in wet times, and dry other parts of the ______year • Origin unknown ______Slide 16 ______The Sandhills • Located northwest of the bays ______• Sandy, rolling ridges left by ancient coast of the Atlantic Ocean ______• Very poor soil • Used as home for golf courses and Fort ______Bragg military installation ______
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Slide 17 ______Section 3: The Piedmont Region ______ESSENTIAL QUESTION – What are the major features of the ______Piedmont Region? ______Slide 18 ______Section 3: The Piedmont Region ______•What words do I need to know? 1. fall line 2. headwaters ______3. sectionalism 4. mill village ______5. NASCAR 6. monadnock ______Slide 19 ______Section 3: The Piedmont Region ______Slide 20 ______Section 3: The Piedmont Region ______• Large region of NC known for hills and red clay soil • Red clay is a subsoil brought up through the ______black woods dirt as a result of timber loss and plowing fields • Kudzu brought from Asia to reduce erosion and ______save the soil • This fast growing vine has grown like a weed ______and covered thousands of acres in the state ______
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Slide 21 ______The Fall Line • fall line: divides the coastal plain from the Piedmont – noted by the last “waterfall” a river hits on its way to the ______ocean • Piedmont: from Latin, means “foot of the mountains” • Technically, the Piedmont is a plateau, but it’s a hilly one ______• Principal rivers: Yadkin-Pee Dee and Catawba – flow into South Carolina • River “highways” connected people in western NC with ______SC more than they did with eastern NC, resulting in “sectionalism” • Over ½ of region is forests; pines cover old farms ______• biological succession: fast-growing pines die off and give way to oaks and hickory trees ______Slide 22 ______Farms and Factories • Soil made farming difficult in the Piedmont ______• Livestock and dairy farms were more profitable, but have declined • Economy of the region has depended on ______factories to produce textiles, furniture and cigarettes • mill villages: clusters of homes in a town where ______mill workers lived; the company often provided the homes, schools, and stores • 1990s: decline in industry ______• Textile and furniture factories moved to Asia ______Slide 23 ______Banking and Racing • Charlotte: national banking center and ______home to NASCAR, and NASCAR Hall of Fame ______• Winston-Salem and Durham have grown in medical service industries linked to Wake Forest and Duke Universities ______• Salisbury: home to grocery industry • Research Triangle Park: leader in ______pharmaceuticals and computers ______Slide 24 ______The Uwharries • monadnocks: geological formation in which ______a point of land sticks out due to erosion of surrounding land (ex. Pilot Mountain on pages 3 and 24) ______• Uwharrie Mountains: cluster of monadnocks south of Greensboro (ex. ______Morrow Mountain) – slopes and slate soil discouraged settlement • Piedmont Crescent: string of towns from ______Raleigh to Charlotte
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Slide 25 ______Section 4: The Mountains Region ______ESSENTIAL QUESTION – What are the major features of the ______Mountains Region? ______Slide 26 ______Section 4: The Mountains Region ______•What words do I need to know? 1. elevation 2. bald ______3. cove ______Slide 27 ______Section 4: The Mountains Region ______Slide 28 ______Section 4: The Mountains Region ______• Blue Ridge: more than 1,000 ft above the Piedmont hills; eastern boundary of the Appalachians ______• Blue Ridge Parkway: road that runs along the top of the ridge – Cherokee NC to ______Waynesboro, VA • Continental Divide – steams on the east ______run to the Atlantic; streams on the west run to the Gulf of Mexico ______
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Slide 29 ______The Blue Ridge • Runs from Pennsylvania to Georgia ______• One long landform (like the barrier islands) with peaks and gaps ______• Early settlers depended on gaps to get through the mountains ______• Areas in the west very isolated • 1870s: tunnels and road beds laid through ______Swanannoa Gap – near current I-40 from Old Fort to Black Mountain ______Slide 30 ______The Appalachians •Run from New York to Alabama ______• 43 peaks in NC over 6,000 feet • Mt. Mitchell (6,684 ft): highest point east of the Rockies ______• Ranges – Black Mountains: known for dark shadows during thunderstorms ______– Great Smoky Mountains: dew rises in mists creating a smoky effect; tallest peaks are Clingman’s Dome and Mt. Guyot; great variety of plants ______– Balsams: large number of balds (places where few trees grow) example: Wayah Bald ______Slide 31 ______Mountain Streams and Rocks • Rivers run north and west out of NC ______• New River and French Broad are examples • Asheville is largest city in the region • Cherokee built their villages along the ______Tennessee River • Most of the over 100 lakes are manmade (ex. Lake Lure & Fontana Lake) ______• Fontana Dam (1930s) is highest in eastern US ; built to provide cheaper electricity ______• Famous sites: Blowing Rock, Chimney Rock, Grandfather Mountain, Nantahala River Gorge ______Slide 32 ______The Mountains Economy • Early settlers isolated from others ______• Farming, traveling, trading were more difficult ______• Towns developed in valley areas • Known for sales of local plants with ______medicinal properties • Tourism is a major industry ______• Christmas tree is a new and growing industry; Fraser firs most popular
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Slide 33 Section 5: North Carolina’s ______Weather and Climate Weather and Climate ______ESSENTIAL QUESTION – What are characteristics of North ______Carolina’s climate? ______Slide 34 Section 5: North Carolina’s ______Weather and Climate Weather and Climate ______•What words do I need to know? 1. weather 2. climate ______3. westerlies 4. humidity ______5. precipitation 6. tornado ______7. hurricane ______Slide 35 Section 5: North Carolina’s ______Weather and Climate Weather and Climate ______• weather: short-term atmospheric conditions • climate: long-term atmospheric conditions ______• temperate climate: general climate zone for NC; known for few extremes of ______temperature or precipitation during the year ______• Day-to-day weather, however, varies ______Slide 36 ______“It’s Not the Heat; It’s the Humidity” • Westerly winds bring warmer air in the ______winter and cooler air in the summer – keeps temperatures similar across the ______state • Mountain peaks usually coldest; Sandhills ______usually the warmest • -34°F: record cold at Mt. Mitchell (1985) ______• Humidity (moisture in the air) can make temperatures feel uncomfortably warm ______
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Slide 37 ______Different Storms in Different Places • Precipitation rates vary across the state ______• SW mountains get most rain; Piedmont is the driest region (precipitation is blocked by the mountains) ______• Mountains get most of the state’s snow • Ice can cause major property damage ______• Thunderstorms occur all over NC in summer; tornadoes less common here than in the Great Plains ______• NC third in US in deaths due to lightning ______Slide 38 ______The Path of Hurricanes • Hurricane damage sources: storm surge (huge ______tide on the beach); wind (can destroy homes, trees, property); flooding (slowing storm rapidly dumps the tropical rain) ______• Notable hurricanes: 1845, cut two inlets; Hazel (1954) winds over 150 mph; Floyd (1999) several ______towns in coastal plain flooded; Hugo (1989) power outages for weeks • Hurricane season: June – November, peaks in ______September
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