Durham Facts to Know

Climate

Latitude: 35° 52' N
Longitude: 78° 47' W
Elevation: Ft. Grnd 416, Baro 415
Time Zone: Eastern

Temperatures here are very pleasing, allowing for outdoor activities like golf almost year round. Seasonal temperatures fall into the following ranges:

F=Fahrenheit, C=Celsius

Driving:

Right turns on red are legal unless otherwise posted. North Carolina requires drivers, front seat passengers and children 12 and under to wear seat belts. The Child Passenger Protection Law requires children under 40 pounds or three years of age to ride in a properly installed safety seat.

Drivers in Durham should be aware that road names and numbers sometimes change on what appears to be the same road. Even more confusing is that roads may be referred to by a number, a name and by a memorial name, which is often used to pay tribute to an individual.

Another important point for drivers in Durham to know is that some postal addresses tend to be arbitrary. Due to postal policy, many parts of Durham receive mail with a variety of postal designations, including Morrisville, Rougemont, Bahama, Timberlake, Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park. In fact, many organizations use particular post office boxes even though they are not located in that district. Research Triangle Park is a prime example.

Fishing and Hunting:

Licenses are required for fishing and hunting and are available at all sporting goods and outdoor activities stores. Children 16 and under are not required to have a license but must be accompanied by a licensed adult.

Pets:

Lodging properties have the option to set aside rooms for guests with pets. This information can be found in the Places to Stay section of this web site. Call the Durham Visitor Information Center at 1-800-446-8604 for information about local kennels.

Alcoholic Beverages:

The NCABC operates ten Durham outlets for alcoholic beverage sales to those 21 years and older. Stores are open from 9am to 9pm, Monday through Saturday. Call 919-383-5529 for store locations. Wine and beer are sold at most grocery and convenience stores.

Triangle

Use of the term “Triangle” or “Research Triangle”

The term “Triangle” was first coined to refer to an area anchored by three major universities: Duke University in Durham (and later North Carolina Central University), the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The three joined in the 1950’s to help create Research Triangle Park, centered in southeast Durham.

Today, the term is used to refer to a five-county metropolitan statistic area or census laborshed, or a 3,000 square mile, six-county, 26-community planning region.

Durham and Raleigh:

“Raleigh-Durham” is the name of the airport that serves two, distinct metropolitan statistical areas—one centered around Durham, NC, and another called Raleigh-Cary. The airport is co-owned by the cities of Durham and Raleigh, along with Durham and Wake counties. RDU is located at the western edge of Wake County, midway between the cities of Durham and Raleigh.

"Raleigh-Durham” is also a misused, shorthand term for the two-metro Raleigh-Durham-Cary combined statistical area, or the 22-county Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville television and radio coverage area.

The Piedmont

Twenty-three miles from the Virginia border, Durham is in the northeast corner of North Carolina’s central piedmont, a geographic foothills region lying between mountains and coastal plains. Durham is 140 miles from the Appalachian highlands and 130 miles from the coast.

North Carolina

• “Old North State” - a reference that originated with the division of the Carolinas in 1710
• First of the original 13 colonies to vote for independence
• Size - 52,660 square miles
• Population - 8,186,268 residents
• North Carolinians are sometimes called “Tar Heels,” a nickname that dates back to pre-Revolutionary days, when tar, pitch and turpentine were extracted from North Carolina pine forests for British naval stores.

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