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Largely on the basis of its topography and landforms North Carolina is often divided into three natural regions, or physiographic provinces: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge (or Mountain) province.

The Atlantic Coastal Plain makes up about 45 percent of the state. The Coastal Plain is actually a series of broad, very flat terraces or steps, which are bounded on their western edges by abrupt rises in elevation that represent ancient beach ridges. Most of the Atlantic Coastal Plain has a sandy surface, and solid rock is very deep below many layers of sediments. Marsh grass and water-tolerant trees cover the wetter areas. Pine forests occupy the better-drained sandy sections.

North Carolina’s Piedmont is about the same size as the Atlantic Coastal Plain, comprising about 45 percent of the state’s area. Lying between the Coastal Plain and the Appalachian Mountains, this rolling to hilly transitional region ranges from 150 m (500 ft) above sea level in places on its eastern border to as much as 460 m (1,500 ft) in the west.

The mountain region of North Carolina occupies about 10 percent of the state. It is part of the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountain province, which extends from New England in the north to Alabama in the south. In the southern part of the Appalachian system, the easternmost mountain ridge is called the Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge province attains its greatest width, height, and ruggedness in the area along the North Carolina-Tennessee border. In places the boundary between these two states follows the crest of the mountain ridges. The region is divided into a number of smaller mountain ranges. The easternmost range is specifically called the Blue Ridge, while along the western margin lie several ranges, including the Unaka Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. Several ranges, such as the Black Mountains and the Plott Balsam Mountains, connect the easternmost and westernmost ranges, enclosing lower-lying basins and valleys. The Asheville Basin, in the French Broad Valley, is the most significant.

The general elevation within the mountains varies from 600 to 1,200 m (2,000 to 4,000 ft), with valleys considerably lower. Many peaks are considerably higher; 50 exceed 6,000 ft (equivalent to 1,829 m). Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains, 2,037 m (6,684 ft) high, is the highest point not only in the state but also in the entire eastern United States east of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The drainage divide in North Carolina follows the Blue Ridge range on the eastern margin of the mountain region. This is called the “Eastern Continental Divide.” West of this divide, rivers drain into the Mississippi River through the Tennessee River and other tributaries of the Ohio River. The French Broad, the largest, and the Little Tennessee flow into the Tennessee River. The New River flows into the Kanawha River of West Virginia which in turn flows into the Ohio River.

Most of the state’s rivers flow southeastward across the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. In the mountains and in the Piedmont they are relatively swift-flowing streams. In places the rivers have cut valleys 60 m (200 ft) or more below the upland surface. Major rivers and their tributaries provide good drainage, and excellent sites to use the rivers to generate electricity are numerous. Most rivers have developed falls or rapids where they cross the Fall Line from the Piedmont into the Atlantic Coastal Plain and become sluggish as they wend their way across the flatter Coastal Plain. Floodplains are wide and river swamps are common.

The Cape Fear River, one of the principal rivers in the state, begins in the Piedmont and flows southeastward as a stream laden with yellow muds and silts until it converges with a large backwater tributary known as the Northeast Cape Fear River. From the junction point of these two rivers at Wilmington, a broad estuary is formed that flows south to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at Smith Island just west of Cape Fear. The Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers flow into different arms of the Pamlico Sound. The Roanoke, Chowan, Perquimans, and Pasquotank rivers enter Albemarle Sound. The New River (which is a different river from the New River in the Blue Ridge province) empties into Onslow Bay. The Yadkin-Pee Dee, Catawba, Broad, and Waccamaw rivers originate in North Carolina and reach the ocean through South Carolina.

North Carolina’s few large natural lakes are in the outer Coastal Plain. Lake Mattamuskeet, near Pamlico Sound, is the largest. Lake Phelps, nearby, is second in size. Lake Waccamaw, near the South Carolina border, is the state’s third largest lake. Of the numerous swamps, the Great Dismal Swamp, astride the North Carolina-Virginia border, is the best known.

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