Download South Carolina Landforms

South Carolina Coastal
Habitats
By C. Livingston, 2009
Earth
Where is South Carolina?
North America
United States of America
SC
Here we are!
South Carolina
borders the
Atlantic Ocean.
Did you know?
South Carolina
ranks 40th in
physical size, and is
one of the top 15
states for
biodiversity in
plants and animals.
Quick Review of SC Regions
Our state is
divided into
regions,
starting at the
mountains and
going down to
the coast.
Blue Ridge Mountains
Landform Regions
The Blue Ridge
Mountain Region
is only 2% of the
South Carolina
land mass.
Facts about the Blue Ridge Mountains . . .
1, The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the
Appalachian Mountain Range.
2. Many streams begin in the mountains.
3. These are the oldest mountains in America.
4. The Blue Ridge Mountains are folding
mountains.
5. The Blue Ridge Region takes up only 2% of
South Carolina’s land mass.
Greenville
Spartanburg
Union
Greenwood
Rock Hill
Abbeville
Piedmont Landform Regions
Facts about the Piedmont Region . . .
1.The Piedmont Region is the largest
region of South Carolina.
2. The Piedmont Region is thought to be a
large plateau (raised high land that is
usually flat on the top).
3. The Piedmont is NOT flat, but is hilly.
4. The word Piedmont means “foot of the
mountains”.
Columbia, Our State Capitol
Sandhills
Do you wonder why
the Sandhills are so
sandy? They used to
be the coastline of
North America
millions of years ago.
Landform Regions
Facts About the Sandhills Region . . .
1. The Sandhills are made of sand and
sand dunes from when this area was
SC’s coastline millions of years ago.
2. The Sandhills are next to the fall line
where the land slopes down and the
rivers become waterfalls.
3. The Sandhills are hilly.
Aiken
Orangeburg
Coastal Plain
There is an Inner and
Outer Coastal Plain.
Can you see the
dividing line? This area
was once in the ocean
millions of years ago.
Sumter
Florence
Landform Regions
Facts about The Coastal Plains…
1. The Coastal Plains are very wet.
2. The Coastal Plains used to be under the ocean
millions of years ago.
3. The Coastal Plains have savannahs, which are wild
grass prairies.
4. The Coastal Plains have a lot of swamps and
marshlands.
5. Because of sediment that settled in the ocean
millions of years ago over the Coastal Plains, there is
a lot of Sedimentary Rock in this area.
6. The Coastal Plains are flat in most areas.
Did you know?
Geologists have learned that the coastal
plain stair-steps down gradually with six
flats and seven slopes. They believe that
this happened as the ocean receded
(moved backward) throughout
thousands of years.
Hilton Head
Beaufort
Charleston
Georgetown
Myrtle Beach
Coastal Zone Landform Regions
South
Carolina has
185 miles of
coastline.
Facts about the Coastal Zone…
1. The Coastal Zone borders the Atlantic
Ocean.
2. It has the most protected wetlands in
the east coast.
3. It has estuaries, wetlands, beaches and
barrier islands.
4. It has more square kilometers of salt
marshes than any other state along the
Atlantic coast.
What is an estuary?
An estuary is a partially enclosed
body of water where two
different bodies of water meet
and mix (e.g. fresh water from
rivers or streams and salt water
from the ocean).
…where
rivers meet
h
Estuaries include…
•
•
•
•
harbors
bays
inlets
sounds
Estuary
What is a wetland?
A wetland is an
area of gradual
transition where
land meets
water.
Wetlands include…
•
•
•
•
•
•
swamps
freshwater marshes
saltwater marshes
tidal mud flats
lagoons
beaches
Other coastal habitats include…
•barrier islands
•maritime forest
Coastal Food Chain & Food Web
Coastal South Carolina Plants
Phytoplankton
Smooth Cordgrass
Glasswort
More Coastal S.C. Plants
Sabal Palmetto
Live Oak
Sea Oats
Coastal South Carolina Animals
Zooplankton
Horseshoe Crab
Lettered Olive Snail
Blue Crab
Loggerhead Turtle
More Coastal S.C. Animals
Diamondback Terrapin
Periwinkle Snail
Moon Snail
Great Blue Heron
More S.C. Coastal Animals
Bottlenose Dolphin
River Otter
Manatee
American Alligator
Diamondback
Rattlesnake