The state flag, adopted in 1885, displays two dates. May 20,
1775, is the supposed date of the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence proclaiming Mecklenburg County's independence from
Britain. On April 12, 1776, North Carolina authorized its
delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence.
The state seal, adopted in 1984, also has these dates. The
standing figure represents Liberty; the seated figure, Plenty.
North Carolina leads all the states of the United States in
tobacco farming and in the manufacture of tobacco products. It
also leads the nation in the production of textiles and wooden
furniture. Raleigh is North Carolina's capital. Charlotte is the
state's largest city. North Carolina is a Southern state with a
long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. Islands, reefs, and sand
bars make its shores some of the most treacherous in the world.
Many ships have been wrecked at Cape Hatteras by the rough seas
and difficult currents. Cape Hatteras is called the Graveyard of
the Atlantic.