Geography

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Geography

• Geography is the study of the Earths 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.
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Theory of Continental Drift
Theory of the large-scale movements of continents
over the course of geologic time.
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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.
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South Carolinas Geography

• South Carolina is located along the Southern
  Atlantic coast

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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
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Regions

• The State is divided into 2 large regions
• The Up Country
• The Low Country
• They are divided by the fall zone

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Fall Zone
Up Country
SCs 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,
erosion-resistant rocks of the upland
region.  Many cities such as Columbia, the
capital of SC, were built along the fall line
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Rivers in the upcountry are narrow and swift
Rivers in the low country are slow and broad
(wide).
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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

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REGIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA
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1. COASTAL ZONE

• 185 miles along the Atlantic Ocean and includes
• - Grand Strand
• - Barrier Islands
• - Salt Marshes

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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.
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Barrier Islands of South Carolina
Barrier Islands are a string of low, sandy
islands from Bulls bay to The Savannah River on
the coast of SC. They protect the coast from the
Atlantic Ocean
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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.

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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.

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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 1940s, poor farmers lived there and
  ate clay and sand. They were called
  Sandlappers and clay eaters.

Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
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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.

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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.

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SCs Climate

• South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate
  with long, hot summers and short, mild winters. 

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Hurricanes

• Hurricane Hugo in 1989, a category 4 hurricane
  that struck near Charleston Harbor

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Earthquakes

• Charleston suffered from an earthquake in 1886
  that destroyed much of the city.
• It measured 6.6 on the Richter scale
• SC averages 1015 earthquakes a year below
  magnitude 3

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SCs 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

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SCs 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
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Economy

• Forests cover two-thirds of the total land area
  in South Carolina and they are essential for the
  states economy, environment, and quality of
  life.
• Timber is the third largest employer and third
  highest payroll of South Carolina manufacturing
  industries.

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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.

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SC Rivers
The 3 major river systems are the Savannah,
Santee, and PeeDee River systems
The Santee is the largest River system in SC
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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.

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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.