As North Carolina enters a new century, perhaps no southern state faces a more intriguing combination of challenges and opportunities. Changes in the state's economy, shifts in its population, and a widening breach between urban and rural areas are just some of the forces that are reshaping North Carolina at this pivotal time in its history. The North Carolina Atlas will be an invaluable aid in any effort to better comprehend the past, present, and future of our changing state. Using text and more than three hundred maps, charts, and photographs, the book offers an in-depth yet accessible look at the state's physical environment, history, population, and economy as well as such other aspects of life as government, politics, education, health, culture, and outdoor recreation. Tracing the shifts and patterns that have made North Carolina what it is today, the book also forecasts where these and other trends are taking us in this new century.