The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, is the term for the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east.
The Carolinas are named after King Charles I of England. Carolina is taken from the Latin word for "Charles", Carolus.
Charlotte, North Carolina skyline in 2018, the largest city and metro area of the Carolinas.
North Carolina is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia to the southwest, and Tennessee to the west. The state is the 28th-largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. Along with South Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast. At the 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its most populous city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023, is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 22nd-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Research Triangle, with an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023, is the second-most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, 31st-most populous in the United States, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.
Ceremony of Secotan warriors in North Carolina. Watercolour painted by English colonist John White in 1585.
Sir Walter Raleigh, namesake of the state capital of North Carolina, Raleigh
John White returns to find the colony abandoned
Reconstructed royal governor's mansion Tryon Palace in New Bern