Download South Carolina Landforms

SC
South Carolina Landform Regions
(and facts about Landforms)
Earth
Where is South Carolina?
North America
United States of America
SC
Here we are!
South Carolina
borders the
Atlantic Ocean.
SC
South Carolina Landform Regions Map
Our state is
divided into
regions, starting
at the mountains
and going down
to the coast.
Do you remember your 3rd grade South Carolina Landform
Regions? Can you name these?
Did You Know?
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
The Southern Atlantic States have about the same regions as
we do in South Carolina.
So, during this study, you will also hear about other states.
What you hear about that landform region in Virginia, for
example, is much the same in South Carolina.
Blue Ridge Mountains
Landform
SC 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.
Types of Mountains
There are four different types of mountains:
Folded Mountains
Upwarped Mountains
Fault Block Mountains
Volcanic Mountains
Folded Mountains
Types of Mountains
Folded mountains form when rock layers
squeezed from opposite sides buckle and fold.
The Appalachians, or Blue Ridge Mountains
are Folded mountains.
Blue Ridge Mountains, SC
Upwarped Mountains
Types of Mountains
Upwarped mountains form when crust is pushed
up by forces inside of the Earth.
Examples: Southern Rocky Mountains and
Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains, NY
Yes! There are really mountains in the state of New
York!
Fault Block Mountains
Types of Mountains
Fault-block mountains are made up of huge tilted
blocks of rock which are separated from
surrounding rock by faults.
(Examples: Grand Tetons and Sierra Nevada Mountains.)
The Tetons
Volcanic Mountains
Types of Mountains
Volcanic Mountains are cone-shaped
mountains created from pile-up of molten
materials.
(Examples: The Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington, and
the Hawaiian Islands.)
Crater Lake,
Oregon—see
the cone island
in the water.
The Cascades is a volcanic
mountain range in the
Northwestern United States.
Mt. St. Helens, Washington
The water in Crater Lake, Oregon is
just this blue!
Mt. Ranier, Washington
Greenville
Spartanburg
Union
Greenwood
Rock Hill
Abbeville
Piedmont Landform Regions
SC
If you could see the
Piedmont Region from
space and without the
foliage, you would notice it
is sort of a huge plateau.
Facts About the Piedmont Region . . .
1.The Piedmont is the largest region of South
Carolina.
2. The Piedmont 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 Piedmont contains many of our largest
cities in South Carolina.
5. The Piedmont is often called The Upstate.
What do we know about the Piedmont of
the Southeastern Atlantic States?
Let’s watch a three minute video showing us about
the Piedmont.
You will look for information about the “fall line” that
divides the higher Piedmont region from the lower,
softer, Coastal Plain region.
You will find out how early pioneers used the rivers
and waterfalls to their advantage.
What do we know about the Piedmont
Region of our Southeastern States?
The Piedmont of the Southeastern States,
StreamlineSC
Movie Follow-Up
What IS the fall line?
How did the fall line hurt transportation in the
early years of our country?
What did the settlers build at the fall line so
they could use the power from the falls?
Columbia, Our State Capitol
Sandhills
Landform
Regions
SC
Do you wonder why the
Sandhills are so
sandy? They used to
be the coastline of
North America millions
of years ago.
Four Facts About the Sandhills Region
...
1. The Sandhills are covered with the left over
sand dunes when it 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.
4. The Sandhills has softer ground than the
Piedmont.
How are sand dunes formed?
All sand dunes are formed the same way.
Every single one is a pile of sand built up by
the wind. Once the sand has been picked up
by the wind, it will go wherever the wind
carries it. Even though most sand dunes are
made of the same material and formed in the
same way, they vary widely in appearance.
Aiken
Orangeburg
Sumter
Florence
Coastal PlainLandform Regions
SC
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.
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.
What is sediment?
Sediment (n.) Material that settles to the
bottom of a liquid
What kind of sediment settled in the Inner and
Outer Coastal Plains millions of years ago
when they were covered with oceans?
This sediment forms layers of rock
called Sedimentary Rock.
What Happened?
What happened to all that sedimentary rock that is
supposed to be in the Inner and Outer Coastal
Plains?
The coastal plains are fairly flat, so the rock has that
eroded over the last million or so years has stayed
in the same place as soil instead of washing away.
There is no new rock exposed from erosion, so you
do not see sediment! Don’t you think the sediment
must have eroded into soil along time ago?
Flat?
Another thing about the Coastal Plains—
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
Coastal Zone
SC
Take a look at the
city map of South
Carolina. You can
name the cities in
the Coastal Zone.
Georgetown
Myrtle Beach
Landform
Regions
Facts About the Coastal Zone
1. It borders the Atlantic Ocean.
2. It has sand dunes.
3. It has marshlands, inlets, bays, barrier
islands.
4. It had Palmetto and Palm trees.
5. It has beaches.
6. It is often battered by hurricanes.
How Did Pioneers Use the Coastal
Zone?
What did the pioneers grow in the Coastal
Zone? Why did they grow this crop?
Watch a one-minute video to find out.
StreamlineSC Video
Name a way that pioneers used the Coastal
Zone of South Carolina.
Along the Southern Coastline, StreamlineSC
Movie Follow-Up
What crop DID the settlers grow in the Coastal
Zone?
Why was this crop grown in this region?
How did cities begin in South
Carolina?
Take a look at the South Carolina Cities Map
to learn where the main cities are placed.
Then look at the Rivers and Streams Map.
Can you see learn anything by comparing
the two maps?
Hint: How were rivers used when the South
Carolina colony was beginning to settle?
South Carolina Cities Map
SC Rivers
Remember . . .
n
There are five landform regions in
South Carolina:
n
Blue Ridge Mountains
Piedmont
Sandhills
Inner Coastal Plain
Outer Coastal Plain
Coastal Zone
n
n
n
n
n
South Carolina 5th Grade Science Curriculum Standard
Structure of the Earth’s System
n
Locate and describe the characteristics of South Carolina landform
regions such as Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plains, and
Coastal Zone.
n
Define constructive forces, which include crustal deformation (folding
and faulting), volcanic eruptions, and deposition of sediment.)
n
Describe how landforms are created as a result of constructive forces.