Carolina is taken from the Latin word for Charles (Carolus), honoring King Charles I of England (who made the original land grant in 1629). North Carolina was formed in 1729 when the Carolina colony was divided in two.

Location Mid-Atlantic coast
Bordered By South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

Total Area (rank) 53,821 sq mi (28th)
Greatest Distance E-W 503 mi
Greatest Distance N-S 187 mi
Geographic Center 10 miles northwest of Sanford
Coastline 301 mi
Highest Point (rank) Mount Mitchell; 6,684 ft (16th)
Lowest Point Atlantic Coast; sea level

Population (rank) 9,848,060 (10th)
Largest Cities Charlotte (731,424), Raleigh (403,892), Greensboro (269,666), Winston-Salem (229,617), Durham (228,330), Fayetteville (200,564), Cary (135,234), Wilmington (106,476), High Point (104,371), Greenville (84,554)

Capital Raleigh
Local Administration 100 counties

Principal Industries tobacco products, textile goods, chemical products, electric equipment, machinery, tourism
Principal Manufactures
Agricultural Products tobacco, nursery stock, soybeans; poultry and eggs, milk; hogs, cattle
Mineral Resources feldspar, kaolin, gneiss, sand and gravel, phosphate, limestone

First Explored By Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524
First Permanent Settlement Albermarle Point, by Englishmen, about 1650
Ratified Constitution (rank) November 21, 1789 (12th)

SEE ALSO
King Charles I
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
Giovanni da Verrazano

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This page was last updated on April 21, 2017.