The western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. They placed their interests above those of the generally non-slave-holding "yeoman" farmers of western North Carolina. The inner Coastal Plain extends 120 to 140 miles (190 to 225 km) westward to the Piedmont, which is a region of rolling, forested hills. North Carolina has some 3,820 square miles (9,890 square km) of inland water, the third largest such area of any state.
North Carolina has theme parks, aquariums, museums, historic sites, lighthouses, elegant theaters, concert halls, and fine dining.[118][119]. These consist of the Council of State (led by the Governor), the bicameral legislature (called the General Assembly), and the state court system (headed by the North Carolina Supreme Court). Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its largest city. On the east are the Blue Ridge Mountains, which rise steeply from the Piedmont to peaks of 3,000 to 4,000 feet (900 to 1,200 metres), with several reaching above 6,000 feet (1,800 metres). Succeeding peoples, including those of the ancient Mississippian culture established by 1000 AD in the Piedmont, continued to build or add on to such mounds. The fate of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island remains one of the most widely debated mysteries of American history. In 1893 the North Carolina General Assembly adopted the Latin words "Esse Quam Videri" as the state motto and directed that these words be placed with the state's Coat of Arms and the date "20 May 1775" upon the great seal. [39] They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the eastern Tidewater. Virginia Dare, the first English child to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587; Dare County is named for her. CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (. For the song of the same name, see, Map of the United States with North Carolina highlighted, Native Americans, lost colonies, and permanent settlement, Largest cities or towns in North Carolina. A truck farm is a small farm where fruits and vegetables are grown to be sold at local markets. Service industries, including education, health care, private research, and retail trade, are also important. The latter had grown rapidly and land was less available. While North Carolina's urban areas have enjoyed a prosperous economy with steady job growth, low unemployment, and rising wages, many of the state's rural counties have suffered from job loss, rising levels of poverty, and population loss as their manufacturing base has declined. [10] Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone; however, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate.