Download REGIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Geography
Geography is the
study of the Earth’s
physical features, the
climate, and the
population
It also includes the ways the Earth influences the human
community and how human beings shape the Earth.
Theory of Continental Drift
Theory of the large-scale movements of continents over the course of
geologic time.
Pangaea
Was a huge continent that
existed 300 million years ago.
It began to break apart about
200 million years ago.
It is believed that the
Appalachians were formed
when West Africa was joined
with North America.
It is also believed the Sandhill
region was create when the
continents started to pull apart.
South Carolina’s Geography
South Carolina is located along the Southern
Atlantic coast
North Carolina and Georgia are the
states that border South Carolina.
The coast of SC is on the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean
The Savannah River forms most of the
border between SC and Georgia
Regions
• The State is divided into 2 large regions:
* The Up Country
* The Low Country
• They are divided by the fall zone
Fall Zone
Up Country
SC’s Fall zone is located between the
Piedmont and Sandhill regions
A boundary
between an upland
region and a coastal
plain.
Rivers from the
upland region drop
to the plain as falls
or rapids.
Low Country
A fall line is formed in an area where the rivers
have eroded away the soft rocks of a coastal plain
more quickly than the older, harder, erosionresistant rocks of the upland region.
Many cities such as Columbia, the capital of SC,
were built along the fall line
Rivers in the upcountry are narrow and
swift
Rivers in the low country are slow and broad (wide).
Landform Regions of South Carolina
South Carolina is often divided further into 6
landform regions:
1. Coastal Zone
2. Outer Coastal plain
3. Inner Coastal Plain
4. Sandhill
5. Piedmont
6. Blue Ridge
REGIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
1. COASTAL ZONE
• 185 miles along the
Atlantic Ocean and
includes:
- Grand Strand
- Barrier Islands
- Salt Marshes
The Grand Strand refers to a large stretch of
beaches on the East Coast of the United States extending
from Little River to Georgetown
The Grand Strand has
become a major tourist
attraction along the
Southeastern coast, with its
primary city, Myrtle Beach,
attracting over ten million
visitors each season.
Barrier Islands of South Carolina
Barrier Islands are a string of low, sandy islands from Bull’s bay to
The Savannah River on the coast of SC. They protect the coast from
the Atlantic Ocean
3. INNER
COASTAL
PLAIN
• Flat area with fertile soil
• Carolina Bays oval depressions in the soil
The Coastal Plains are often
combined to make the coastal
region which makes it the largest
of all the regions because it
covers 2/3 of the state.
2. OUTER
COASTAL
PLAIN
-location of rice and indigo
plantations in the coastal
regions.
-Flat , swamps, marshlands and
savannas.
-Coastal Plains are believed to
have been under the Atlantic
Ocean when the Piedmont was
the coastline.
4. SANDHILLS
Our state capital, Columbia, is in this
region
 Extends along the fall line.
 A rolling, hilly area
 Contains the red hills and white
sandhills to the north.
 Fruits and vegetables are grown here,
especially peaches.
 Was an ancient coastline of SC at one
time.
 Until the 1940’s, poor farmers lived
there and ate clay and sand. They were
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
called “Sandlappers” and “clay eaters.”
5. PIEDMONT
• Includes rolling hills and many
valleys
• Contains nearly 1/3 of the state
• Was once a productive farming
area, especially for cotton, but poor
farming practices led to the erosion
of the topsoil.
• Rapidly flowing creeks and rivers
provide energy for the textile
industry.
6. BLUE RIDGE
• Mountainous area with
high peaks and valleys
• Sassafras Mt is the
highest peak in the state.
• Whitewater Falls the
highest waterfall east of
the Mississippi River.
SC’s Climate
• South
Carolina has
a humid
subtropical
climate with
long, hot
summers and
short, mild
winters.
Hurricanes
– Hurricane Hugo in
1989, a category 4
hurricane that struck
near Charleston Harbor
Earthquakes
• Charleston suffered
from an earthquake in
1886 that destroyed
much of the city.
• It measured 6.6 on the
Richter scale
• SC averages 10–15
earthquakes a year
below magnitude 3
SC’s Population
• SC Area: 31,055 sq miles
• Population: 4,723,723
• SC is a small state.
• It ranks 40th in the US for size
• SC is fairly populated.
• SC is ranks near the middle in the
nation in population, at 24
• Seven of the most populated cities in
South Carolina are located east of
Columbia in the coastal regions
SC’s Economy
Today South Carolina's
economy is no longer
dependent on any one
sector.
Industrial outputs include:
textile goods, chemical
products, paper products,
machinery, automobiles
and automotive products
and tourism.
Travel and tourism directly
accounts for 6 percent of all
jobs and 5 percent of gross
state product in the state
Economy
• Forests cover two-thirds of
the total land area in South
Carolina and they are
essential for the state’s
economy, environment,
and quality of life.
• Timber is the third largest
employer and third highest
payroll of South Carolina
manufacturing industries.
Agriculture Products
• Tobacco, grown primarily in the Pee Dee
region of the state, is the leading crop and
accounts for nearly a quarter of all income
from crops.
• Major crops are also greenhouse and
nursery products, cotton lint, soybeans,
corn, wheat, fresh tomatoes and peaches.
• South Carolina is the nation's largest
producer of peaches for the fresh market
and second only to California in peach
production overall.
• Livestock :mainly comes from poultry
products including broiler chickens, eggs,
and turkey.
• Cattle , hogs, and dairy products are also
important.
SC Rivers
The 3 major river systems
are the Savannah, Santee,
and PeeDee River systems
The Santee is the
largest River system
in SC
South Carolina Fun Facts
• The state dance of South Carolina is the Shag!
• The first battle of the Civil War took place at Fort
Sumter.
• In Lake Murray lives the Loch Ness Monster's
cousin the Loch Murray Monster. Every few years,
Irmo has a sighting of some kind of water monster
that inhabits Lake Murray.
• South Carolina, before it was The Palmetto State,
was The Iodine State.
• The Peachoid is a 135-foot tall water
tower in Gaffney, South Carolina, United States,
that resembles a peach.
More South Carolina Fun Facts
• The walls of the American fort on Sullivan Island,
in Charleston Harbor, were made of spongy
Palmetto logs. This was helpful in protecting the
fort because the British cannonballs bounced off
the logs.
• Charleston boasts the first public college, museum
and playhouse in the U.S.
• The first game of golf played in the U.S. took place
• Sweetgrass basket making has been a part of the
Mount Pleasant community for more than 300
years in Charleston.
• The nation's only commercial tea farm, American
Classic Tea, is located onWadmalaw Island
near Charleston.