<P> The state has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet (2,037 m) at Mount Mitchell, the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River . The climate of the coastal plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean . Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone . More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate . </P> <P> North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east . The United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region . </P> <P> North Carolina consists of three main geographic regions: the Atlantic coastal plain, occupying the eastern portion of the state; the central Piedmont region, and the Mountain region in the west, which is part of the Appalachian Mountains . The coastal plain consists of more specifically - defined areas known as the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow barrier islands separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets, including Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound, the tidewater region, the native home of the venus flytrap, and the inner coastal plain, where longleaf pine trees are native . </P> <P> So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic"; more than 1,000 ships have sunk in these waters since records began in 1526 . The most famous of these is the Queen Anne's Revenge (flagship of the pirate Blackbeard), which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718 . </P>

Where is the mountain region located in north carolina