South Carolina

I

Introduction

South Carolina, one of the southern Atlantic coast states of the United States, bordered on the north by North Carolina; on the east and south-east by the Atlantic Ocean; and on the south-west and west by Georgia. The Savannah River forms almost all of the boundary with Georgia, and the Chattooga River forms most of the rest.

South Carolina entered the Union on May 23, 1788, as the eighth of the original 13 states. Its economy was dominated by agriculture until the 20th century, when manufacturing became the chief industry. In the 1990s South Carolina was a leading producer of textiles. President Andrew Jackson was born in the border area between North Carolina and South Carolina, and Vice-President John C. Calhoun was born in South Carolina. The state is named after Charles I and Charles II of England; its nickname is the “Palmetto State”.

II

Land and Resources

South Carolina reaches from the Atlantic Ocean, along its eastern side, into the Appalachian Mountains in its north-western corner. South Carolina has an area of 80,779 sq km (31,189 sq mi) and is roughly triangular in shape; its extreme dimensions are 439 km (273 mi) from east to west and 352 km (219 mi) from north to south. Elevations range from sea level along the Atlantic coast to 1,083 m (3,557 ft) at the top of Sassafras Mountain in the north-west; the approximate mean elevation is 107 m (350 ft). The state has a coastline of about 301 km (187 mi), indented by numerous inlets; many islands of the Sea Islands chain are off the coast.

A

Physical Geography

South Carolina can be divided into three major regions: the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the Blue Ridge. About half the state is part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (known, in colonial days, as the low country). The southern part of the Coastal Plain is fringed by the Sea Islands, separated from the mainland by salt marshes, lagoons, and sounds. The Coastal Plain surface is almost level but rises gradually inland.

The inner edge of the Coastal Plain, which passes through the city of Columbia, is called the fall line. Here, rivers descend in falls and rapids as they leave the Piedmont Plateau region and enter the Coastal Plain. The Piedmont (known, in colonial times, as the upper country) is underlain by hard rocks such as granite, slate, and gneiss. Elevations increase from about 150 m (490 ft) at the fall line to about 300 m (985 ft) at the north-western edge of the plateau. Inland from the Piedmont Plateau the land rises steeply into the Blue Ridge mountains, which are composed of hard rocks such as gneiss.

Three important rivers flow south-east across South Carolina. The Great Pee Dee is the main river in the north-eastern part of the state. In the middle of the state a group of rivers flow together to form the Santee. Other rivers include the Savannah, Lynches, Edisto, and Saluda. There are no large natural lakes in South Carolina; however, artificial lakes, formed by dams include Lake Marion, Lake Moultrie, and Clark Hill and Hartwell lakes (both partly in Georgia).

B

Climate

The climate of South Carolina is humid subtropical except in the Blue Ridge, where it is humid continental. The subtropical climate arises from the combination of the state’s relatively low latitude, its generally low elevation, the proximity of the warm Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, and the Appalachian Mountains, which in winter help to screen out the bitter cold air of the interior of the continent. Charleston, on the Atlantic coast, has an average January temperature of about 9.2° C (48.5° F) and an average July temperature of about 26.7° C (80° F); Greer, in the Piedmont Plateau region, has a mean January temperature of about 5.8° C (42.5° F) and a mean July temperature of about 25.8° C (78.5° F). The recorded temperature in South Carolina has ranged from -28.9° C (-20° F), in 1977 at Caesars Head in the north-west, to 43.9° C (111° F), in 1925 at Blackville and Calhoun Falls in the west and in 1954 at Camden in the central part of the state.