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North Carolina is a Southern U.S. state in the United States, also considered a Mid-Atlantic state in some cases. It is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The state was originally named for King Charles I of England. North Carolina has 3 metropolitan combined statistical areas with a population well over 1 million. North Carolina consists of three distinct geographic sections: the coastal plain, which occupies the eastern forty percent of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills, which take up the remaining 25% of the state in the west. The coastal plain begins in the east as a chain of narrow, sandy barrier islands known as the "Outer Banks". The Outer Banks encompass two sounds — Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south; they are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States. Inland the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils which grow tobacco, soybeans, and cotton. The major rivers of this section, such as the Tar River and Cape Fear River, tend to be slow-moving and wide. Farther inland is the "fall line," a series of hills which mark the end of the coastal plain and the beginning of the Piedmont. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is North Carolina's most urbanized and densely-populated region. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low isolated mountain ridges. A number of small, deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the Sauratown Mountains, Pilot Mountain, the Uwharrie Mountains, Crowders and Kings Mountains, the Brushy Mountains, and the South Mountains. The Piedmont ranges from about 300-400 feet elevation in the east to over 1,000 feet in the west. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the Yadkin and Catawba, tend to be fast-flowing, shallow, and narrow. The western section of the state contains the Appalachian Mountains. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, Balsams, Pisgahs, and the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet, 2,037 meters). It is the highest point east of the Mississippi River.
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