Transcript Geography of SC

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 planteating 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
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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 seaisland, 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 CDVirtual 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.