North Carolina:

Capital: Raleigh

Population: 8,049,313

Entered the Union: November 21, 1789

As the: 12th state

Motto: Esse quam videri (To be rather than to seem)

Nickname: Tar Heel State

Origin of Name: In honor of Charles I of England

Major Industries: furniture, tobacco, brick, textile products, metalworking, chemicals, paper, tobacco, corn, cotton, hay, peanuts, vegetable crops, mica and lithium

Historical Sites: The Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk, Guilford Courthouse and Moores Creek National Military Parks, Carl Sandburg's home near Hendersonville, and the Old Salem Restoration in Winston-Salem.

Points of Interest: The Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge National Parkway, and the Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores.