Capital: Raleigh.

Governor: Michael F. Easley (D, to January 2005).

Population: 8,049,313.

Land area: 48,711 (square miles).

Entered the Union: November 21, 1789 as the 12th state

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

Nicknames: Tar Heel State.

Flower: Dogwood.

Bird: Cardinal.

Song: "The Old North State".

Sports Teams: Charlotte Hornets (Basketball) and Carolina Panthers (Football).

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, truck and 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.

Bordering States: Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia.