E.Q. How can geographical conditions cause problems?

It is a specific area where the “lay of the land” and the habits of the people are much the same.

For example, in flat regions like the tidewater and coastal plains, people adapted by farming and raising livestock like cattle and pigs.

They are inland bodies of mixed water from both salt and fresh water. NC has 5 of them.

Some wildlife like sharks and alligators can survive in this mixed water for a short while.

Long exposures to this mix can prove fatal to most species.

It is not uncommon to hear of bull sharks and alligators coming in contact with humans in these waters.

It is where ocean sand is in a low place and allows the sea water to come in and out with the tide.

These areas change with sea conditions. For example the Roanoke Inlet where

early explorers came into the NC shoreline was forever changed by a hurricane.

Now ships come through to NC shores via the Oregon Inlet carved out in 1846 after a massive hurricane.

In the Tidewater region, a portion of land remains wet for most of a year, flooded or soaked with water.

Along the shore, salt marshes are found which provide NC and the World with shellfish.

It is an incubator of sorts within a wetland where shrimp and other shellfish breed and live.

There are similar incubators in fresh water as well.

These are something entirely different.

The word is an Indian word that means a “swamp on a hill”.

These areas have vegetation all around them.

Oaks, laurel, and bay trees help make up the areas.

Alligator pocosin is the largest are like this near the town of Washington, NC.

Estuaries do not contain pure fresh water or vegetation.

It is found in areas where you would find a pocosin but, it contains tall grasslands within its trees.

These unique areas are home to plants that only can survive in the wild here.

The Venus Fly Trap thrives here because of the natural supply of flying and crawling insects that live there.

Crossroad hamlets are small towns that dot the region for people that cannot afford or make it to the larger towns in the area.

Tobacco towns are where communities have grown from the tobacco industry.

Some towns like Greenville, Wilson, Goldsboro, and yes Tobaccoville contain many warehouses for tobacco farmers.

Scientists do not exactly agree on how or why they exist but Carolina Bays are depressions along the ground.

Some like White Lake are filled with water.

Some look like pocosins during a rainy stretch and dry out during the warmer months.

Scientists do agree that these are some of the best habitats for animals and rich soil.

The Sandhills found here have very poor soil for certain types of farming but are great for golf courses.

Tobacco became an early cash crop and as a result, a mix of both white and black Americans settled here.

Now migrant workers from other countries have moved here to work the land.

The piedmont is always in a state of change.

Dairy farming has fallen off in recent years.Sectionalism has resulted here where

local concerns weigh heavier than state or national ones.

Manufacturing created mill villages , housing clusters, like some suburbs in Winston-Salem around textile and tobacco plants.

Stock car racing grew into a national phenomenon from dirt tracks near piedmont communities.

Charlotte now uses its massive banking resources to fund many NASCAR teams.

It is also home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Many of its legendary drivers both past and present were home-grown in the piedmont region.

In the piedmont , a cluster of small mountains are scattered through the mid-section of NC.

The mountains are actually older than the neighboring Appalachian Mountains in the mountain region.

They were home to the Keyauwee tribe. Some “experts” try to claim the Saura

Mountains like Pilot Mountain as part of this chain but Mr. Wyatt says “they are wrong.”

Oddly enough, Mayberry, a fictional town popularized by TV’s The Andy Griffith Show claims its home in the Piedmont.

Just some 20 miles north of Pilot Mountain in Surry County is the boyhood home of Andy Griffith also TV’s Matlock.

The city of Mount Airy has adopted its fictional counterpart as its own.

Many festivals are connected with the show.

Coves are valleys where streams and rivers carved out spaces wide enough for farming.

Some like Vallis Crucis , near the town of Boone, home to Appalachian State University, is home to one of the biggest areas for growing Ginseng, a popular herb that is rumored to have many health benefits.

Many liberal arts colleges like Mars Hill grew from strong churches in the region.

Yes, you are finished. Most of these terms will be mixed in

with your test on Wednesday and may stretch into Thursday.

Tuesday you will have DARE class. Be prepared to study your map,

terms, borders, and region questions Tuesday night.

Remember, if you “miss” Tuesday’s test, no problem, you’ll just take it first thing when you return.