The Geography of North Carolina falls naturally into three divisions or sections -- the Appalachia Mountains formed mostly by the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, the Middle or Piedmont Plateau, and the Eastern or Tidewater section, also known as the Coastal Plain. North Carolina covers 53821 square miles (139396 km2) and is 560 miles (900 km) long by 150 miles (240 km) wide. The physical chracteristics of the state can be pictured as a surface spread out upon a vast declivity, sloping down from the summits of the Smoky Mountains, an altitude of near seven thousand feet, to the ocean level.