North Carolina Facts
| Origin of Name: | NC is named for King Charles I of England, from the Latin "Carolus" |
| Nickname: | Tar Heel State - The name probably evolved from the Colonial period when the colony's chief exports were tar, pitch and turpentine. |
| Motto: | "Esse Quam Videri" (To Be Rather Than to Seem) |
| Population: | 8,049,313 (2000) -11th most populous state |
| Size: | 52,669 square miles - 28th largest |
| Major industries: | Tobacco, poultry, sweet potatoes, textiles, furniture, bricks |
| Song: | "The Old North State" composed by Judge William Gaston |
Bird:
Cardinal
Tree:
Longleaf Pine
Mammal:
Gray Squirrel
Vegetable:
Sweet Potato
Reptile:
Eastern box turtle
Rock:
Granite
Fish:
Channel bass
Precious stone:
Emerald
Flower:
Flowering dogwood
Colors:
Red & Blue
Two presidents were born in North Carolina:
- James Knox Polk, born in Mecklenburg County 11/2/1795,11th President 1845-1849.
- Andrew Johnson, born in Raleigh12/29/1808,17th President 1865-1869.
NC has 1,500 lakes 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams. There are more than 1.2 million acres of national forest land in the Tar Heel state. More than 120 species of trees are found in NC.
Cape Hatteras lighthouse, built of brick in 1870, is 208 feet tall, USA's tallest brick lighthouse.
NC boasts more than 200 waterfalls, including the highest on the East coast, the 411 foot high, two-tiered Whitewater falls in Transylvania County. The New River, which runs through Ashe County, is the oldest river in North America and second oldest in the world.
Mount Mitchell in the Blue Ridge mountains, at 6,684 feet above sea level, is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. At around 500 million years old, NC's Uwharrie mountains are the oldest in the nation and among the oldest in the world. Grandfather mountain, highest peak in the Blue Ridge, is the only private park in the world designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve.
Opened in 1795, the University of NC at Chapel Hill was the nation's first state university. The first forestry school in the USA was established in Transylvania County in 1898. NC was the first state to establish a state museum of art, located in Raleigh.
NC has the largest state-maintained highway system with 77,400 miles of road today.
NC was among the first states to establish a state symphony (1943). The NC Symphony currently performs nearly 185 full orchestra concerts each year.
Some North Carolina State Animals and Plants
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| Gray Squirrel | Eastern Box Turtle |
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| Longleaf Pine | Flowering Dogwood |
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| Channel Bass | Cardinal |