Editing Iredell County, North Carolina (section)

==Geography==
{{maplink|frame=yes|zoom=8|id=Q502875|type=shape-inverse|text=Interactive map of Iredell County}}
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|597.39|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|574.41|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|22.98|sqmi}} (3.85%) is water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2022 |title=2020 County Gazetteer Files – North Carolina |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_counties_37.txt |access-date=September 9, 2023 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

Iredell County is located within the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] Region of central North Carolina. The northwestern section of the county contains the [[Brushy Mountains (North Carolina)|Brushy Mountains]], a deeply eroded spur of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] far to the west. The highest point in Iredell County, Fox Mountain, is in the Brushies; it rises to 1,760 feet. Although the "Brushies", as they are often called locally, are not high in the normal sense, they do rise prominently above the surrounding countryside. The remainder of Iredell County consists of gently rolling countryside occasionally broken by low hills and small river valleys. The county's largest river, the [[Catawba River|Catawba]], forms much of its western border. [[Lake Norman]], North Carolina's largest manmade lake, is the most prominent geographic feature of southern Iredell County; it is often called North Carolina's "inland sea".

Iredell County is an important transportation center for the state, as [[Interstate 77]] and [[Interstate 40]] cross in northeast [[Statesville, North Carolina|Statesville]]. This has given birth to the county's slogan "Crossroads for the Future." Residents have easy access going south on I-77 to Charlotte; north on I-77 to [[Elkin, North Carolina]] and [[Roanoke, Virginia]]; east on I-40 to [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]], [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]] and [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]; and west along I-40 to [[Hickory, North Carolina]] and [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]].

The northern third of Iredell County is highly [[rural]] and contains no large towns. Due to the thinly populated nature of this portion of the state, it is one of the select places in North Carolina where the speed limit on [[Interstate Highways]] exceeds 65&nbsp;mph, as [[Interstate 77]] north of [[Statesville, North Carolina|Statesville]] has a speed limit of 70&nbsp;mph.

Iredell County is one of the longest counties in the state and stretches for nearly fifty miles north to south, from Yadkin County in the north to Mecklenburg County in the south.

===State and local protected areas/sites===
* [[Fort Dobbs (North Carolina)|Fort Dobbs State Historic Site]]
* [[Lake Norman State Park]]

===Major water bodies===
{{div col}}
* [[Back Creek (North Carolina Creek)|Back Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Back Creek (in Iredell County, NC) |url=https://northcarolina.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,1,fid,1018894,n,back%20creek.cfm |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=northcarolina.hometownlocator.com}}</ref>
* [[Buffalo Shoals Creek (North Carolina)|Buffalo Shoals Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stonestreet |first=O. C. |date=July 14, 2012 |title=COLUMN: Buffalo in Iredell County? Most likely |url=https://statesville.com/news/column-buffalo-in-iredell-county-most-likely/article_3d6a3657-2aa0-5a68-8690-533ce121a589.html |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=Statesville Record and Landmark |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Catawba River]]
* [[Fifth Creek (North Carolina)|Fifth Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fifth Creek (in Iredell County, NC) |url=https://northcarolina.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,1,fid,1020240,n,fifth%20creek.cfm |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=northcarolina.hometownlocator.com}}</ref>
* [[Fourth Creek (North Carolina)|Fourth Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Carolina Gazetteer search |url=https://ncpedia.org/gazetteer/search/Fourth%20Creek/0 |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=ncpedia.org}}</ref>
* [[Hunting Creek (North Carolina)|Hunting Creek]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=South Yadkin River |url=https://www.deq.nc.gov/water-quality/planning/bpu/catawba/catawba-plans/2010-plan/3-03040102-south-yadkin-river-2010/download |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=www.deq.nc.gov |page=2}}</ref>
* [[Lake Norman]]
* [[Lookout Shoals Lake (North Carolina)|Lookout Shoals Lake]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2007 |title=Lookout Shoals Lake Perspective |url=https://p-cd.duke-energy.com/-/media/pdfs/community/lookout-shoals.pdf?rev=063151e074d048b599cc83e8e07ab301 |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=p-cd.duke-energy.com}}</ref>
* [[Morrison Creek (North Carolina)|Morrison Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Carolina Gazetteer browse |url=https://ncpedia.org/gazetteer/browse/M?page=116 |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=ncpedia.org}}</ref>
* [[North Little Hunting Creek]]<ref name=":0" />
* [[Olin Creek (North Carolina)|Olin Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olin Creek (in Iredell County, NC) |url=https://northcarolina.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,1,fid,991631,n,olin%20creek.cfm |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=northcarolina.hometownlocator.com}}</ref>
* [[Patterson Creek (Iredell County)|Patterson Creek]]<ref name=":0" />
* [[Rocky Creek (North Carolina)|Rocky Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rocky Creek at Turnersburg, NC |url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/02117500/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=waterdata.usgs.gov |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Rocky River (North Carolina)|Rocky River]]
* [[Snow Creek (North Carolina)|Snow Creek]]<ref name=":0" />
* [[South Fork Withrow Creek (North Carolina)|South Fork Withrow Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Fork Withrow Creek (in Iredell County, NC) |url=https://northcarolina.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,1,fid,995162,n,south%20fork%20withrow%20creek.cfm |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=northcarolina.hometownlocator.com}}</ref>
* [[South Yadkin River]]
* [[Third Creek (North Carolina)|Third Creek]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Third Creek Watershed {{!}} Iredell County, NC |url=https://www.iredellcountync.gov/307/Third-Creek-Watershed |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=www.iredellcountync.gov}}</ref>
* [[Withrow Creek (North Carolina)|Withrow Creek]]<ref name=":0" />
{{div col end}}

===Adjacent counties===
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* [[Yadkin County, North Carolina|Yadkin County]] – north (created from [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]] in 1850)
* [[Davie County, North Carolina|Davie County]] – east (created from [[Rowan County, North Carolina|Rowan County]] in 1836)
* [[Rowan County, North Carolina|Rowan County]] – east (created from [[Anson County, North Carolina|Anson County]] in 1753)
* [[Cabarrus County, North Carolina|Cabarrus County]] – southeast (created from [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]] in 1792)
* [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]] – south (created from [[Anson County, North Carolina|Anson County]] in 1762)
* [[Lincoln County, North Carolina|Lincoln County]] – southwest (created from [[Tryon County, North Carolina|Tryon County]] in 1779)
* [[Catawba County, North Carolina|Catawba County]] – southwest (created from [[Lincoln County, North Carolina|Lincoln County]] in 1842)
* [[Alexander County, North Carolina|Alexander County]] – west (created from [[Caldwell County, North Carolina|Caldwell]], Iredell, and [[Wilkes County, North Carolina|Wilkes]] Counties in 1847)
* [[Wilkes County, North Carolina|Wilkes County]] – north (created from [[Surry County, North Carolina|Surry County]] and parts of [[Washington District, North Carolina|Washington District]] in 1777)
{{div col end}}

===Major highways===
[[File:Iredell County Rest Area (NC).jpg|thumb|The Iredell County [[rest area]] is centered between north and southbound lanes of I-77]]
{{div col}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|40}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|I|77}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|21}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|64}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|US|70}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|3}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|90}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|115}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|150}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|152}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|801}}
* {{Jct|state=NC|NC|901}}
{{div col end}}

===Major infrastructure===
* City of Statesville Regional Airport<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statesville Regional Airport |url=http://www.statesvillenc.net/airport/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=www.statesvillenc.net |language=en}}</ref>
* Davis Regional Heliport, near Statesville<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAA Information about Davis Regional Heliport (22NA) |url=https://www.airport-data.com/airport/22NA/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=www.airport-data.com}}</ref>
* Iredell County is served by two railroads, [[Alexander Railroad]] and [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]
* Lake Norman Airpark, near Mooresville<ref>{{Cite web |title=Index |url=https://www.lakenormanairpark.org/ |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=www.lakenormanairpark.org}}</ref>