Geography of North Carolina

North Carolina spans three dramatically different geographic provinces from east to west, creating one of the most geographically diverse states in the eastern US.

The Atlantic Coast and Outer Banks — North Carolina's coast is dominated by the Outer Banks, a chain of narrow barrier islands extending 200 miles along the coast. The Outer Banks are separated from the mainland by Pamlico Sound (the largest lagoon in the US) and Albemarle Sound. Cape Hatteras, at the Outer Banks' midpoint, juts far into the Atlantic — the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current meet nearby, creating some of the most dangerous shipping waters on the East Coast and exceptional fishing. Over 1,000 shipwrecks litter the coast — giving the area the name "Graveyard of the Atlantic."

The Coastal Plain (also called the Tidewater and Piedmont approach) is a broad, flat-to-rolling plain that covers roughly 40% of the state. The Great Dismal Swamp extends from Virginia into northeastern North Carolina. The sandhills region in the south-central Coastal Plain — centered on Pinehurst — is the golf capital of North America.

The Piedmont is the densely populated central region where the major cities (Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem) are located. The Piedmont occupies a rolling plateau between the Fall Line and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Blue Ridge Escarpment forms a dramatic wall at the western edge of the Piedmont. The Blue Ridge rises abruptly 2,000–3,000 feet above the surrounding piedmont in some places.

The Mountains — The Black Mountains, Grandfather Mountain, and the Great Smokies define western North Carolina. Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet) in the Black Mountains is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. Asheville sits in a broad mountain basin at 2,134 feet elevation. The region has more plant and tree species than all of Europe.

The French Broad, New, Roanoke, Yadkin, and Catawba Rivers drain the interior to the Atlantic; the Tennessee River system drains the far western mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.