All language subtitles for The.World.From.Above.S10E14.USA.North.Carolina.Raleigh.to.Cape.Fear.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-alfaHD_track3_[eng]

(air whooshes)
(gentle dramatic music)

(air whooshes)

(upbeat dramatic music)

(upbeat music)

- Our journey
begins at Raleigh,

the capital city of North Carolina

and the second largest in the state.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are part

of the Appalachian
Mountain range which runs

for over 1,500 kilometers up
the eastern side of America.

In the 1880s, George
Vanderbilt II constructed

the enormous Biltmore
mansion which he called

his little mountain escape.

To the east is the
Charlotte Motor Speedway,

considered by many to be
the home of NASCAR racing.

On the river at Wilmington is one

of the greatest World War
II war ships ever built

in the United States,
the USS North Carolina.

Our final location is Cape Fear,

so named by sixteenth century explorers

for its dangerous waters and today,

a very popular holiday destination.

(air whooshes)

Raleigh is the capital
city of North Carolina

and the second largest in
the state after Charlotte

which we will also see on this journey.

The city, founded in 1788
following the War of Independence,

was named after Sir Walter
Raleigh, the English explorer

who founded the settlement of Roanoke

on the North Carolina coast in 1585.

Raleigh is an early
example of a planned city

in the United States and
was originally laid out

in a grid pattern with the
North Carolina state capitol

in Union Square at the center.

(upbeat classical music)

The state capitol, completed in 1840,

is one of the finest and
best preserved examples

of a major civic building
in the Greek Revival style

and is now a national historic landmark.

The first State House was
destroyed in a fire in 1831.

It was replaced by this new
building at a cost of $532,000

which is roughly $16
million in today's money.

As the state government grew,
it was decided to relocate

most departments to new offices

and leave the original building untouched.

Today, this historic State House,

now dwarfed by modern skyscrapers,

houses the offices of the
governor and his officials.

(upbeat music)
A few kilometers out

of the city is the Carter-Finley Stadium,

home to the North Carolina
State Football Team,

known as the Wolfpack.

This university team competes in a number

of college and
university-league competitions.

Today, they are playing
against the Miami Hurricanes.

As the cheerleaders
practice their routines

on the touch-line, the
carpark begins to fill

with families coming early
for a barbecue with friends

or to eat from the hamburger
and hotdog selections

at the various concessions.

American football evolved
from association football

or soccer and rugby football
where the ball can be carried.

After the first game in 1869,

when each team fielded 25 players,

it took several years for
proper rules to be agreed.

At the start, it was a violent game

and in 1905 there were 19
fatalities in the sport

which resulted in President
Theodore Roosevelt

threatening to abolish
the game all together.

Over the years, new rules have been added

and old rules changed
to make the game safer

and more competitive, though
to many non-Americans,

it's often confusing to
understand what is happening.

As the North Carolina Wolfpack prepare

to meet the Miami Hurricanes,

the razzmataz of the pre-game
show starts and the stadium,

which seats nearly 58,000
people, begins to fill up.

(upbeat music)

As the start of the game approaches,

a temporary flight
restriction comes into force

both for reasons of safety,
but also noise abatement.

(crowd cheers)

This means we have to
climb to about 5,000 feet

or 1,500 meters.

At this height, we get a great final view

of this All-American sport.

(upbeat music)

A hundred and fifty kilometers northwest

is one of only a few hyphenated
towns in the country,

Winston-Salem.

In 1849, the town of Salem
sold off some neighboring land

for a new county town
which was named Winston.

In the 1880s, the U.S. Post
Office started referring

to the two towns as
Winston-Salem; and in 1913,

after a referendum, the
name was officially adopted.

Close to the center of the modern city

is the Old Salem, now a historic district

and a national historic landmark.

The town was founded
by the Moravian Church

which was a Protestant
denomination established

in central Europe during
the fifteenth century

before arriving in the
American state of Pennsylvania

in 1735.

Thirty years later, a church
bought 40,000 hectares of land

in North Carolina and
started to build Salem.

In 1950, a not-for-profit
corporation was formed

to protect threatened
buildings, restore the town,

and operate portions of it as a museum.

Old Salem is staffed by
living history interpreters

who present visitors with
a view of Moravian life

in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries.

(light classical music)

The features included skilled interpreters

such as tinsmiths, blacksmiths,
cobblers, gunsmiths,

bakers, and carpenters
practicing their trades

while interacting with visitors.

(light classical music)

Approximately 70% of the
buildings in the historic district

are original making this a truly unique

living history museum.

(light classical music)

From Winston-Salem,
it's possible to see one

of the most distinctive, natural
features in North Carolina,

Pilot Mountain.

The region's earliest known inhabitants

were the Saura Indians who
called the mountain Jomeokee,

meaning "Great Guide."

For early travelers,
it acted as a landmark

when much of the area was a wilderness.

Pilot Mountain refers to
the whole mass rising out

of the surrounding landscape.

At the north end is Big Pinnacle,

it's pure quartzite capstone
resists the eroding forces

of wind and water to loom 430
meters above the valley floor.

It's distinctive, rocky
knob rises 150 meters

from a forested base.

This rock formation is known
as a monadnock or inselberg

which is an isolated hill
or mountain of bedrock

standing conspicuously
above the general level

of the surrounding area.

This makes it ideal for
rock climbing and abseiling

which is allowed on portions
of the park's steep cliffs.

And from the summit,
we can see great views

of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west,

which is where we're headed next.

(birds chirp)
(bluegrass music)

The Blue Ridge Mountains are part

of the Appalachian Mountain Range

which runs for over 1,500 kilometers

along the U.S. Eastern seaboard.

(bluegrass music)

The Blue Ridge Mountains are so called

for having a blueish color
when seen from a distance.

And it's actually the
trees that put the blue

into Blue Ridge as they emit a range

of small, organic
molecules, the most common

being a substance called isoprene.

This contributes to the
characteristic haze on the mountains

and their distinctive color.

As we climb into the mountains,

we rise above the frost level
and the temperature drops

to below freezing.

The Blue Ridge contains
the highest mountains

in Eastern North America
and about 125 peaks

exceed 1,500 meters in height.

The highest in the range is Mount Mitchell

at just over 2,000 meters.

Running along the mountain ridges is one

of the most scenic roads
in America and part of

the National Park Service,
the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It offers spectacular mountain scenery

at any time of the year.

Motoring along this
755 kilometer long road

is an experience unlike any
other as along its route,

visitors will experience
long-range vistas,

close-up views of the rugged mountains,

and beautiful panoramas
from the large number

of stopping places.

The Parkway is one of the
most popular attractions

of the National Park system which owns

and maintains the road.

On June 30, 1936, the United
States Congress formally

authorized the project
as the Blue Ridge Parkway

and placed it under the jurisdiction

of the National Park Service.

Some of the work was carried out

by various New Deal Public Works agencies

in a scheme set up by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt

to provide much needed work
following The Great Depression.

Personnel from four Civilian
Conservation Corps camps

worked on the roadside
cleanup, roadside planting,

grating slopes, and
improving adjacent fields

and forest lands.

During World War II,
these crews were replaced

by conscientious objectors

in the Civilian Public Service program.

The entire project took
52 years to complete.

The Blue Ridge Parkway ends

in the great Smoky Mountains National Park

which is one of the
largest, protected areas

in the Eastern United States.

It's also UNESCO World Heritage site.

On the southern edge of
the Park is Fontana Lake,

one of the largest lakes
in western North Carolina.

Fontana was built during World War II

to provide electric
power for the war effort.

A new town sprang up in the forest,

housing some 5,000 people
who worked around the clock

in three shifts and the project
broke construction records.

A few small towns were completely
submerged as Fontana Lake

slowly filled.

Fontana Lake provides the only access

into the most remote areas
of the National Park.

When the lake is at the
normal, summer level,

visitors can hire boats
to explore the many creeks

which lead to trails into
the Great Smoky Mountains.

(guitar strums)

(birds chirp)

To the east of the mountains
is the Pisgah National Forest

and ahead of us, Cold Mountain.

It stands 1,840 meters high
and the summit is accessible

only by an extremely
strenuous 17 kilometer trail.

Much of the forest was originally owned

by the industrialist George
Washington Vanderbilt, II.

After his death in 1914, his
widow sold 35,000 hectares

of land, including this mountain

to the United States Forest
Service at just $5 an acre

to create the Pisgah National Forest.

This land had been part
of the Biltmore Estate

where George Vanderbilt
constructed the largest,

privately-owned house
in the United States.

(light classical music)

In the 1880s, at the
height of what is known

as the Gilded Age, George Vanderbilt, II,

youngest son of the enormously wealthy

William Henry Vanderbilt,
began to make regular visits

to this area of North Carolina.

He loved the scenery and climate so much

that he decided to create his
own summer estate in the area

which he called his
little mountain escape.

He named his estate
Biltmore which was derived

from "Bilt," his ancestors
place of origin in Holland,

and "more," Anglo-Saxon
for open-rolling land.

The style of the house is châteauesque

and used several French Renaissance houses

from the early sixteenth
century as inspiration.

Construction of the house began in 1889

and took six years to complete.

In order to undertake
such a large project,

a woodworking factory and brick kiln,

which produced 32,000 bricks
a day, were built onsite

and a three-mile railroad
spur was constructed

to bring materials up to the new house.

All this required a massive labor force

of well over a thousand workers

as well as 60-odd stonemasons.

Vanderbilt went on extensive
buying trips overseas

as construction on the
house was in progress.

He returned to North Carolina
with thousands of furnishings

for his newly built home
including tapestries,

hundreds of carpets, prints, linens,

and decorative objects all dating

between the fifteenth and the
late nineteenth centuries.

The running costs of
such an enormous house

were understandably high and
following Vanderbilt's death

in 1914, his wife began
to shrink the estate

to contain costs.

(light classical music)

During the Depression of the
1930s, the house was open

to the public for the
first time to help tourism

in the area.

Since then, the estate, under
the Vanderbilt descendants,

has become a major attraction,

close to one and a half
million visitors a year.

(light classical music)

To the east is the city of Charlotte,

the most populous in the state
at around 900,000 people.

It's also one of the largest cities

in the Southeastern United States

and home to the headquarters
of Bank of America,

as well the East Coast operations
of the Wells Fargo Bank.

The city is named after Queen
Charlotte of Mecklenburg,

the wife of the British King George, III,

who was to lose the American colonies

in the War of Independence in 1776.

A conflict of a very different
sort takes place here

at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

(upbeat rock music)
It's considered the home-track

for NASCAR, the National Association

for Stock Car Auto Racing.

Many race teams are located
in the Charlotte area.

Stock car racing in the
United States has its origins

in bootlegging during the
Prohibition of the 1930s.

When drivers ran elicit, homemade whiskey

across state borders, they typically used

small, fast vehicles to
better evade the police.

Many of the drivers
would modify their cars

for speed and handling, as well
as increased cargo capacity

and some of them came to
love the fast pace driving

down twisty, mountain roads.

Following the repeal
of Prohibition in 1933,

the drivers began to
race for fun and profit,

and out of those early
days, NASCAR was born.

Another great American sport is golf

and some of the finest courses
can be found in the U.S.

This is Pinehurst which has
a history stretching back

to 1895 when a Boston drinks magnet bought

just over 2,000 hectares of
land for about $3 a hectare.

The Holly Inn was opened the
same year and shortly followed

by the first golf course in 1898.

Today, there are nine
courses, three hotels,

and extensive leisure facilities.

For many years, it was
the largest golf resort

in the world until it was
surpassed by one built in China.

Over the years, it's hosted
the PGA Championship,

the Ryder Cup, and the
U.S. Open four times.

Many of the world's greatest
golfers have played here

from the legendary figures
such as Arnold Palmer

and Jack Nicklaus to today's
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Pinehurst is due to host
the U.S. Open again in 2024.

(light dramatic music)

On the coast is the city
and port of Wilmington

and opposite the city
on the Cape Fear River

is one of the greatest
war ships ever built

in the United States,
the USS North Carolina.

Her keel was laid in 1937
at the New York Navy Yard

and was the first battleship
to be constructed for 16 years.

At the time of her commissioning in 1941,

she was considered the
world's greatest sea weapon.

(upbeat dramatic music)

Armed with nine, 16 inch
caliber guns and three turrets,

and 20, five inch caliber
guns and 10 twin mounts,

the North Carolina proved a
formidable weapons platform.

During World War II, the ship participated

in every major Naval
offensive in the Pacific area

of operations and cruised
over 500,000 kilometers,

earning 15 battle stars.

She was only hit once when
a Japanese torpedo smashed

into the ship's hull.

(upbeat dramatic music)

Despite this, by the end of the war,

the ship had only lost
10 men with 67 wounded.

The North Carolina was
eventually decommissioned in 1947

and placed in the inactive reserve fleet

for the next 14 years.

In 1958, the announcement
of her impending scrapping

led to a public campaign to save the ship

and bring her back to her home state.

The battleship arrived here
in 1961 and was dedicated

as the state's memorial to
its World War II veterans

and those who died during the conflict.

(dramatic music)

The first permanent, European
settlement in the area

started in the 1720s
with English colonists.

The deep river and sheltered
position made Wilmington

an excellent place for a town
and a general cargo port,

as well as a growing
ship building industry.

During World War II, over
200 low cost Liberty ships

were built for the American
and British Atlantic trade

as they were needed to
quickly replace those sunk

by German submarines.

Today, the shipyards have been replaced

by a modern container port
as the deep water channel

makes Wilmington one of the few such ports

along the Southeast Coast.

A few kilometers
downstream from Wilmington

is a good example of a
mid-eighteenth century

plantation house.

This is Orton Plantation and
built in the Classical Revival

and Greek Revival architectural style.

Dominating the front are the
tall, fluted doric columns

which give the house a
real sense of grandeur.

The two wings were added in 1904.

(light classical music)

The first house on the
site was built in 1725,

but destroyed by local Native Americans.

The second house was constructed in 1735

and the estate developed into
a leading rice plantation.

Of course, it must be
remembered that none of this

could have been achieved
without the unpaid labor

of hundreds of slaves.

Today the house is privately
owned and closed to the public,

but the plantation gardens
and family chapel are open

and have become a popular
tourist destination.

In 1973, the Orton Plantation was added

to the National Register
of Historic Places.

During the Civil War of
the mid-nineteenth century,

the Confederate Fort
Fisher, on the opposite bank

of the river, was taken by Union
forces who then confiscated

Orton Plantation and used the
house as a military hospital,

thus sparing it from destruction.

(light classical music)

Right at the beginning
of the Civil War in 1861,

artillery batteries were placed here

which would later become Fort Fisher.

During the war, Wilmington
was one of the most important

points of entry for supplies
for the Confederacy.

Its port traded cotton
and tobacco in exchange

for foreign goods like munitions,
clothing, and food stuffs.

Trade was based on the coming
and going of British smugglers

who were known as blockade
runners because they had

to avoid the Union's
imposed maritime blockade.

Often, they were forced to
fly the Confederate flag

as the Union Army hanged
any British pirates

captured trying to enter the port.

In 1865, after a failed first attempt,

the Union forces finally took Fort Fisher.

With its fall, the trading
route to Wilmington was cut,

as was the supply line
for the Confederate Army

of Northern Virginia.

This action helped end
the war two months later.

(dramatic music)

At the end of this long
beach is our final location,

Cape Fear, which juts out
into the Atlantic Ocean.

The name originates
from the 1585 expedition

of Sir Richard Grenville
when his ship was forced

into the bay by bad
weather behind the cape.

It's said that some of the
crew were afraid the ship

would be wrecked and this gave
rise to the name Cape Fear.

It's the fifth, oldest
surviving English place name

in the U.S.

In the seventeenth century,
it became known as Cape Fair,

but by the American War of Independence,

the name had reverted to Cape Fear,

as had the name of the nearby river.

Just off the end of Cape Fear is a sandbar

and an excellent place to see
a flock of brown pelicans.

With its bird life, good fishing, sailing,

and miles of unspoiled, golden beaches,

Cape Fear has changed from
being a place of threat

to one of enjoyment.

It is now a popular holiday destination.

a perfect place to end this journey.

(dramatic music)

(air whooshes)
(gentle dramatic music)