North Carolina (ⁱ/ˌnɔːrθ kærəˈlaɪnə/) is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the 50 United States. North Carolina is known as the Tar Heel State and the Old North State.

North Carolina is composed of 100 counties. Its two largest metropolitan areas are among the top ten fastest-growing in the country: its capital, Raleigh, and its largest city, Charlotte. In the past five decades, North Carolina's economy has undergone a transition from reliance upon tobacco, textiles, and furniture-making to a more diversified economy with engineering, energy, biotechnology, and finance sectors.

North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet (2,037 m) at Mount Mitchell, the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River. The climate of the coastal plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate.

North Carolina may refer to:

See also

North Carolina wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. Wine growers in North Carolina were the first to cultivate a native American grape variety, the Scuppernong, which produces a sweet wine, examples of which are still being made in the state. Most wine produced in North Carolina since the year 2000 is made from Vitis vinifera grape varieties, although French hybrid and Vitis labrusca varieties remain common.

Wine industry

North Carolina ranks tenth in both grape and wine production in the United States. The state's wine industry continues to expand, and today is one of the United States’ five most visited state destinations for wine and culinary tourism. In 2007, North Carolina contained 55 wineries and 350 vineyards. By 2011, this had grown to more than 100 wineries and more than 400 vineyards.

See also

U.S. Route 69 is a north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only 150 miles (241 km) long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as those of US 287 and US 96) is in Port Arthur, Texas at an intersection with State Highway 87. Its northern terminus is in Albert Lea, Minnesota at Minnesota State Highway 13.

Route description

Texas

US 69 begins at its southern terminus with SH 87 in Port Arthur. This intersection is also the southern terminus for US 96 and US 287, which are concurrent with US 69. US 69, US 96, and US 287 continue in a northwest, then west, route until its intersection with Interstate 10 in southern Beaumont. At this intersection, US 69, US 96, and US 287 merge with I-10. I-10/US 69/US 96/US 287 continue in a northerly direction through Beaumont for several miles. Just after the intersection with US 90, I-10 splits from the multiplex and resumes its easterly course, leaving US 69, US 96, and US 287 heading northwest through Beaumont. US 69 north of I-10 is also known officially known as Eastex Freeway, and is an official evacuation route, just as Interstate 69/US 59 heading north from Houston is known as Eastex Freeway as well.

U.S. Route 399 was a U.S. Highway that ran from Ventura, California to Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1934 and deleted in 1964, as it was only 137 miles (219 km) long, less than the minimum 300 miles (480 km) that AASHTO set as the threshold for U.S. Highways. It has been replaced with a segment of State Route 33, all of State Route 119, and a segment of State Route 99.

Route description

From its original junction at U.S. Route 101 in Ventura, California, the route continues along State Route 33 up to Ojai, temporarily joining State Route 150. Leaving Ojai, it continued into the Los Padres National Forest along the Maricopa Highway, with its summit at Pine Mountain. Descending into the Cuyama River Valley, it met State Route 166 and travelled east towards Maricopa past what is now the Carrizo Plain National Monument and crossing the axis of the San Andreas Fault into the southern San Joaquin Valley. In Maricopa, it continued north again with State Route 33 into the southern Midway-Sunset Oil Field and intersecting modern State Route 119 in Taft. From Taft, U.S. 399 followed State Route 119 out of town through Valley Acres and past the modern Buena Vista Recreation Area (the old Buena Vista Lake) towards U.S. Route 99 (now State Route 99) in Pumpkin Center and Greenfield, then with the old alignment of U.S. Route 99 (Union Avenue, SR 99 Bus.) north into Bakersfield where it terminated. This ending, being a useless concurrency, was later truncated to U.S. Route 99 until U.S. Route 399 was decommissioned.

U.S. Route 431 is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently runs for 556 miles (895 km) from Owensboro, Kentucky at U.S. Route 60 to Dothan, Alabama, at U.S. Route 231 and U.S. Route 84.

Route description

Alabama

U.S. 431 is paired with unsigned State Route 1 throughout almost all of Alabama, with the exception Dothan, where it is paired with unsigned State Route 210. Within Dothan, AL 1 is also paired with US 231 between the Florida State Line and the Dothan Loop, and US Business Routes 231 and 431 in Dothan, Alabama.

The route takes a rather meandering path through southeast Alabama. It heads in a northeast direction to pass through Phenix City near the Georgia state line, then cuts back to the west to pass through Opelika; the portion between Phenix City and Opelika is concurrent with U.S. Route 280. From Opelika, US 431 swings back and forth between northwest and northeast as it works its way through the southern extent of the Appalachian Mountains, then turning northwest to pass through the Talladega National Forest, arriving at a junction with Interstate 20 a few miles east of Oxford. The combined routes travel westward from Exit 191 into Oxford, where US 431 splits off at Exit 188 and heads northward through Oxford and the adjacent city of Anniston; through this section the route is named Veterans Memorial Parkway.

U.S. Route 421 traverses approximately 328 miles (528 km) across North Carolina; from Fort Fisher, on a peninsula between the Atlantic and Cape Fear River, to the Tennessee state line near the community of Zionville. The highway is nominally labeled "north" and "south" throughout North Carolina, though it really follows a general "northwest-southeast" path, and the segment from Greensboro to Boone is almost due east-west, with compass "west" corresponding to the signed "north" direction.

Majority of the highway is part of the North Carolina Strategic Highway Corridors system. Because of this designation, the state has made numerous changes converting a rural two-lane highway into a major Freeway/Expressway with 4 or more 6 lanes. Finding a road named "Old U.S. Route 421" is not uncommon along the entire route.

Route description

New Hanover County

US 421 starts at a parking/dock area on the Cape Fear side of the peninsula; within a quarter of a mile, the Fort Fisher Ferry Terminal is located where travelers can ride a ferry to Southport. Immediately after the ferry terminal is the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, where the first and second battles of Fort Fisher took place.