North Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties and its capital is Raleigh.

North Carolina was one of the original Thirteen Colonies, originally known as Carolina. Joara, a native village near present-day Morganton, was the site in 1567 of FortSan Juan, the first Spanish colonial settlement in the interior of what became the United States. It was also the home of the first English colony in the Americas.

On May 20, 1861, North Carolina was the last of the Confederate states to secede from the Union. It was readmitted on July 4, 1868. The state was the location of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of July 1, 2007, the population was estimated to be 9,061,032 (a 12% increase since April 1, 2000). Recognizing eight Native American tribes, North Carolina has the largest population of American Indians of any state east of the Mississippi.

North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to almost 6,700 feet (2,042 m) in the mountains. The climate ranges widely from the coastal Tidewater and Piedmont to the western mountains. The coastal plains are strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone. More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a humid continental climate.

Old Baldy was completed in 1817. Standing 110 feet high and containing 108 steps, it served as an active lighthouse until 1935 and as a radio beacon until 1958. It was used mostly to guide ships through the perilous Frying Pan Shoals. After the construction of the Oak Island Lighthouse in 1958, "Old Baldy" was decommissioned. It still stands as a symbol of Bald Head Island and is open to the public.

Old Baldy was completed in 1817. Standing 110 feet high and containing 108 steps, it served as an active lighthouse until 1935 and as a radio beacon until 1958. It was used mostly to guide ships through the perilous Frying Pan Shoals. After the construction of the Oak Island Lighthouse in 1958, "Old Baldy" was decommissioned. It still stands as a symbol of Bald Head Island and is open to the public.

The third and current Bodie Island Lighthouse, with its original first order Fresnel lens with a range of 18 nautical miles, was completed in 1872. In 1932, the light was upgraded to an electric lamp by using oil-fueled generators. In 1940, the Lighthouse was fully automated (no keeper). In 1953, it switched from the generators to the commercial electric grid for its power. The tower shape is conical markings/pattern with white and black bands and a black lantern house. The light characteristic graphic is white 2.5 seconds on, 2.5 seconds off, 2.5 seconds on, and 22.5 seconds eclipse with 2 cycles each minute. The graphic indicates how the real light beacon may be identified when looking at its actual light output type or sequence.

Bodie Island Lighthouse is the third that has stood in this vicinity on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It is located on the Roanoke Sound side of the first island that is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Lighthouse is located just south of Nag's Head, a few miles before Oregon Inlet. It is currently not climbable by the public, but plans are in place to make it safe for climbing.

The preceding Bodie Island Lighthouses actually stood south of Oregon Inlet on PeaIsland in an area now under water. The first was built in 1847 and then abandoned in 1859 due to a poor foundation. The second, built in 1859, was destroyed in 1861 by retreating Confederate troops who feared it would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War.

The small, triangular complex of islands located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and known collectively as Smith Island, has had three lighthouses grace its shores. These beacons were erected to warn mariners away from the dangerous Frying Pan Shoals, which extend some eighteen miles southeast of the island, and to guide vessels to the mouth of the river.

Cape Fear Lighthouse was built in 1903, replacing the Bald Head Lighthouse as the main navigation aid for CapeFear and the Frying Pan Shoals off the coast of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It stood near the cape on BaldHeadIsland. It was a steel skeleton frame lighthouse, as opposed to the brick lighthouses usually associated with the state. It was painted red and white horizontal stripes. Three white, two red. It was maintained for most of its lifetime by Capt. Charlie Swan, its lighthouse keeper. On December 5, 1932, first assistant lighthouse keeper, Devaney F. Jennette, died while in the watch tower. He was talking to Capt. Swan at the time. The Cape Fear Lighthouse was demolished in 1958 and replaced by the Oak Island Lighthouse.

The Cape Hatteras light original tower was first constructed in 1803 and the current tower was constructed in 1870. The light was first lit in 1870 and the skeleton tower was automated in 1936. It has conical markings/pattern: white and black spiral bands with red brick base. The first order Fresnel in 1870 has a range of 20 nautical miles. The light characteristic graphic is a short flash every 7.5 seconds.

Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina near the community of Buxton. The Outer Banks are a group of islands on the North Carolina coast that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the coastal sounds and inlets. Atlantic currents in this area made for excellent travel for ships, except in the area of Diamond Shoals, just offshore at Cape Hatteras. Nearby, the warm Gulf Stream ocean current collides with the colder Labrador Current, creating ideal conditions for powerful ocean storms and sea swells. The large number of ships that ran aground because of these shifting sandbars, including the Civil War ironclad warship USS Monitor, gave this area the nickname "Graveyard of the Atlantic." It also led Congress to authorize the construction of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which is recognized by the National Park Service as the tallest lighthouse in America. The lighthouse is one of several on the North Carolina coast that are still operational including the Currituck, Bodie Island, Ocracoke, Cape Lookout, and Oak Island lighthouses.

Due to erosion of the shore, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was moved from its original location at the edge of the ocean to safer ground 2870 feet inland. The move was controversial at the time with speculation that the structure would not survive the move, resulting in lawsuits that were later dismissed. Despite some opposition, work progressed and the move was completed between 1999 and 2000 in a massive operation. Rededicated in 2000, the lighthouse is fully open to the public at its new location further inland.

Cape Lookout was built in 1859 has a unique diagonal checkerboard design and is visible for 19 miles, guiding sailors around the treacherous Lookout shoals. It is the only lighthouse known to have this pattern. During the Civil War, the stairs were blown up in an attempt to keep the Yankees from using it-but the Union repaired it and kept it going through the war. The lighthouse is 150 feet high and has 201 spiral iron steps. This is the only lighthouse that operates during the day with the light flashing every 15 seconds. This light became fully automated in 1950. Lookout is accessible only by boat and private ferry.

Long before its lighthouse, Cape Lookout was the hunting grounds of the notorious pirate Blackbeard. During World War II, German U-boats prowled the waters.

Today, Cape Lookout features miles of sandy beaches where shelling is a popular pastime. Portsmouth Village still stands, a ghost town recalling its days as a fishing village and lifesaving station. Several buildings are open for tour.

This lighthouse is located in Corolla, NC and was built in 1874. This light along with others along the Carolina Outer Banks was to alert vessels, that elected to take an inshore course to avoid the adverse flow of the Gulf Stream, to the proximity of the shoals and sandbanks that have sunk so many ships in the past. The red tower, which has walls 6-ft thick at the base, still has its original 12-ft first order Fresnel bull's-eye lens giving the beam a range of 18 miles. The light is 163-ft tall and has a conical tower.