Geography of SC - PC\|MACimages.pcmac.org/.../Documents/Geography_of_SC.pdf · Hurricane Season. 1893 Great Sea Island Storm struck Savannah, Beaufort and the barrier island (Charleston)

Geography of SC

One of the four elements of

History

Pages 1-4

The Theory of Continental Drift

• 3 billion years ago the land that became North America

first appeared out of the sea

• Movement of tectonic plates below the earth’s surface

then became part of one huge continent known as

Pangaea.

• When North America collided with the coast of West

Africa about a billion years ago the Appalachian

Mountains arose. **Pangaea: An ancient huge continent

Did You Know?

• Ancient oceans covered parts of SC all the way

up to the midlands? Shells and fossils of sea

animals have been found in the Midlands

(Columbia Area).

• The Coastal Plain is rich in phosphates as a

result of the land being covered by the ocean.

• The Appalachian Mountains are smoother and

more rounded because they are older than the

mountains in the western part of North America?

Did You Know?

• Two of our inland lakes, Marion and Moultrie, are among

the world’s largest man made lakes.

• In SC, we have many monadnocks. (don’t know what

they are?.....First one to me with the correct answer wins

a free homework pass)

• The word piedmont means “foothill” or “foot of the

mountain”.(remember this, you will hear it again)

Assignment

• Using the handout and the map on page 4 of your text

book, label the 6 major regions of South Carolina.

• Be sure you create a key which denotes the colors of

each area. Label each area as well.

• http://www.scaquarium.org/curriculum/iexplore/th

ree_five/units/regions/regions.htm

• Upon completion, place the map in your SC Portfolio.

You will need this map for our culminating project.

Geography Part II

Pages 4-10

• The first dinosaur fossils in SC were found

in Williamsburg County in 1986. They

were two teeth of the hadrosaur, a plant-

eating duck billed dinosaur that lived all

over the United States. In 1992 and 1994

fossils of the theropod, a meat-eating

dinosaur, were found in Florence County.

Assignment

• On your county map, label any items of

interest that we discuss in class. For

example, put the names of the two

dinosaur fossils we have just discussed.

Put in the 6 regions. Label the Fall Zone

Place the map in your notebooks so that

as we continue, you may add to your

maps.

Present Day SC

• Location: Southern Atlantic coast.

• Occupies 31,055 square miles.

• Ranks 40th in size among the fity states.

• Geographically split into two broad areas by the fall zone. This is

an area that divides the state into the Up and Low Country. It

stretches across South Carolina through the Sandhills from the

Savannah River, near Aiken, through Columbia to Cheraw at the

North Carolina border.

**** Use your county map to denote the fall zone. Check with your

neighbor to see if you are in agreement.

Present Day (cont.)

• Six Regions of SC

• Coastal Zone

– Stretches along the Atlantic coast.

– About 185 miles long and reaches ten miles

into the interior.

– Divided into three sections:

a. Grand Strand: broad, sandy beaches,

begins at the NC border and ends sixty miles

to the southwest at Winyah Bay.

Regions of SC (cont.)

b. Santee Delta: South of Winyah Bay to

Bull’s Bay, the largest delta on the east

coast, built up by sediment brought down

the coastal rivers from the interior.

Santee Delta

Coastal Zone (cont.)

c. Barrier Islands: from Bull’s Bay to the

Savannah River, low sandy islands which

protect the coast from the stormy Atlantic.

Once the site of rich plantations that grew sea-

island, or long-staple, cotton. On the

mainland, salt marshes and streams yield an

abundance of seafood.

http://sciway2.net/2001/sc-geology/coastal_zone.htm

Coastal Zone (cont.)

d. Coastal Plain: the largest landform region in the state and can be divided into the Outer and Inner Coastal Plain.

1. Outer Coastal Plain (Lower Pine Belt). 30-50 miles wide. Rivers in this region rise and fall with the tide. There are dark inland swamps and savannas (areas of flat land without trees.) Great rice and indigo plantations once flourished.

2. Inner Coastal Plain (Upper Pine Belt. 130-250 feet above sea level. Rich bottom lands where cotton plantations developed after the American Revolution. The Congaree River southeast of Columbia is one of the largest tracts of original forests in the country. Some of the tallest trees east of the Mississippe River grow there. Congaree National Park (22,000 acres) is the only national park in SC**Carolina Bays: Oval depressions in the soil, they look like swamps surrounded by trees. The smallest bays are four to five acres in size. BIG Swamp in Manchester State Forest is the largest with several thousand acres.

http://sciway2.net/2001/sc-geology/coastal_plain.htm

Geography of SC

pages 8-9

• The Sandhill Region: Extends along the fall zone. Has red hills to the south and sandhills to the north. George Washing rode through the Sandhills between Columba and Camden and said the are was “the most miserable pine barren” he had ever seen. In 1940’s poor farmers lived there. Many had dietary diseases and ate clay or sand. They were known as “clay eaters” or “sandlappers.” Today pine forests and fruit orchards grow in the area. (Atlas CD-Virtual Tour)

SC Geography

Pages 8-9

• The Piedmont: Takes up nearly one third

of the state. Covered with forests or fields

of Up Country cotton plantations. Creeks

and rivers of the region provided

waterpower for the textile industry that

grew up in the state after the Civil War.

Geography SC History

pages 8-9

• The Blue Ridge: (sometimes called Alpine

Region) Approximately 500 square miles

of Blue Ridge Mountains and valleys.

Highest peak in SC is Sassafras Mountain

in Pickens County. Whitewater Falls, in

Oconee County, is the highest waterfall

east of the Mississipp River.

SC Geography

The River Systems • Savannah River system: drains into the

Savannah river on the Georgia border.

• Santee River System: Located in the center of the state. Is the largest in the state.

• Pee Dee River System: Located in the northeast.

***These rivers form in the mountains and flow southeast across the state. Upcountry they fall quickly from the hills into the valleys. At the fall zone they become broad and sluggish. They carry rich soil and deposit it along the river banks

Rivers (cont.)

• Black Water Rivers: carry very little

sediment, and the color comes from a high

tannic-acid content.

a. Black River

b. Combahee

c. Edisto River

Assignment: Label your map: Rivers of SC. Make sure that you label the following

rivers: Santee, Black, Combahee, Congaree, Great PeeDee, Waccamaw, and the

Savannah Rivers. On the side of your map list the three Major Rivers of SC.

IMPORTANT SC Cities

• Place the following cities on your map and

insert them into you key.

• Myrtle Beach Spartanburg

• Georgetown Beaufort

• Charleston Rockhill

• Columbia Sumter

• Florence

• Greenville

Climate of SC

• Temperate Climate: Experience four seasons. (humid and subtropical) Rain is most abundant in February and July and August. Hurricanes sweep coastal ares in the late summer and early fall. June through September is considered the Hurricane Season. 1893 Great Sea Island Storm struck Savannah, Beaufort and the barrier island (Charleston) and killed 2,000. Hurricane Hugo in 1989 killed 17 people and left 65,000 people homeless. Over $5 billioin in property damages.