Raleigh is the capital city of North Carolina and is situated in Wake County, in the central part of the state. Raleigh has an estimated population of around 464,000 people, with over 1.3 million living in the surrounding metropolitan area. This large North Carolina city covers an area of 144.8 square miles.

Raleigh has earned the nickname 'City of Oaks' due to the fact that hundreds of oak trees can be found all around the city, and it was named after Sir Walter Raleigh, the English writer and explorer. Raleigh is home to the famous Research Triangle Park, which is the biggest research park on the planet, along with North Carolina State University. Statistically, Raleigh is one of the fastest growing cities in all of the United States.

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