Exploring North Carolina-
North Carolina’s landscapes beckon in every season. Find adventure on peaks and trails, from world-class fishing to salt-soaked shores. Unwind in the city of Asheville, where nature and art meet.Each episode of Exploring north Carolina, a partnership between the Museum, UNC-TV and Natural World Productions, is a mini-adventure about the plants, animals, geology and history (natural and social) of our greatest places. Each topic-driven segment is three to five minutes long.
The Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the broader Appalachian Mountain Range and feature stunning high elevation scenic views. These mountains are home to several popular national parks including the Great Smoky Mountains and Mount Mitchell, which is the highest peak in the Eastern United States at 6,684 feet.They are known for their rocky, secluded mountain peaks and gorgeous wilderness areas where visitors can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities. The famous Blue Ridge Parkway travels right through these majestic mountains and offers visitors incredible scenic drives, points of historic interest, hiking trails and more.The region also has a great mix of cities and small towns where travelers can find plenty to do. From outdoor adventures to culinary experiences and quirky charm, there is something for everyone to enjoy in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Outer Banks
The pristine beaches of the Outer Banks—also known as OBX—are home to a diverse ecosystem that includes sandy shores, vital wetlands, and a series of sounds, estuaries, and salt marshes. These waters have claimed more than two thousand ships, earning them the nickname “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Today, they lure anglers and shipwreck enthusiasts.These barrier islands also play an important role in protecting the mainland from raging surf and storms. They are also home to herds of wild horses (sometimes referred to as “banker ponies”), believed to have descended from mustangs that washed ashore on the Outer Banks in centuries past.
The Appalachian Mountains
North Carolina’s mountains are a natural playground for adventurous travelers. Visitors can hike the state’s many trails and camp under a shady oak in one of the state’s beautiful campgrounds. The state’s rivers provide whitewater rafting and kayaking opportunities for those seeking thrills.The Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina are the largest mountain range in the eastern United States, with peaks rising more than a mile above sea level. They have a worn, rounded appearance that reflects their geologic origin, which occurred before the formation of the rugged peaks in the American West.The mountain region is home to deciduous broadleaf forests that include species like longleaf pine and the American chestnut, as well as evergreen needle-leaf conifers such as hemlock and the spruce (Picea abies). Flora also includes mosses and liverworts.
The Southern Appalachians
The peaks of the Southern Appalachian Mountains (the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama) are among the highest in eastern America. They are a distinctive physiographic unit that rises above the Piedmont Plateau, which borders them on the east and west, and the valley of East Tennessee, which extends into their southerly flanks.The mountainous topography of the region has made the forests of the Southern Appalachians a natural refuge for wildlife. Its relatively stable climate and the presence of refugia from periods of glaciation have created a diverse flora that includes many rare species.Spring is peak wildflower season in the mountains. Visitors to the forest trails in this time of year are treated to a kaleidoscope of color as the trees burst into bloom.
The Piedmont
North Carolina spans three major physiographic regions: the Atlantic coastal plain, the central Piedmont, and the Appalachian Mountains. The region’s diverse landscape has shaped the state’s climate, soils, plant life and human history.The yeoman farming societies that took shape in the Carolina Piedmont were very different from those of the older coastal area. As cultural geographer D. W. Meinig explains, they were “formed by peoples whose origins, social character, economic interests, and political concerns differed considerably from those of the coastal areas.”The state’s modern-day Piedmont is a vibrant place where innovation thrives in bustling city centers, tradition holds strong in historic mill towns, and world-class barbecue sways between award-winning chefs and whole-hog pitmasters. It’s the home of the Research Triangle, with its high-tech universities and booming tech companies, and the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point metropolitan area.
The Southern Appalachian Coast
With rushing whitewater and the sound of waterfalls in the background, explore this region to discover adventure in nature and tap into a beauty that settles into your soul. The westernmost part of the state beckons you to find adventure in its pristine rivers, stillness in old-growth forests and tap into a beauty that settles deep into your soul.The southern Appalachians stretch across a portion of the state, including southwestern Virginia, eastern West Virginia and Tennessee, western North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina and parts of Georgia and Alabama. These mountains are situated where moist air that has travelled over lowland areas is cooled by rising uplifted terrain, resulting in heavy rainfaWild Atlantic beaches, quaint beach towns and some of the country’s most significant historic sites grace the coastal regions. In these places, archaeology is beginning to supplement early historic accounts and tell a story of the sweeping change brought by contact with Europeans.
The Southern Piedmont
The Southern Piedmont extends from a small portion of eastern Alabama across most of Georgia, much of northwestern South Carolina, and into a sizeable portion of North Carolina. The region lies between the Coastal Plain and the mountainous west. The region’s elevation varies from around 300 feet in the west to over 1,500 feet near the mountains. The transition between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont is called the Fall Line, and along this area rivers flow over hard rocks rather than softer sediments. This creates shoals and low waterfalls.The Southern Piedmont is home to a mix of fast-growing and diverse cities, including Charlotte, the South’s finance center and host of NASCAR, as well as quaint college “cities” like Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh. It also includes well-known private colleges such as Barton College, Belmont Abbey College (the only Catholic college in the Carolinas), Davidson University, Elon University, Lees-McRae College, and Lenoir-Rhyne College.