South Carolina: Our State

Basic Stats
Located in the Southeast United
States
Smallest state in the SE
Ranks 40th in size out of all the
United States
About 32,000 square miles
Ranks 24th in population out of the
United States
About 4 million people
populate the state
Five Geographic Regions
1. Blue Ridge
2. Piedmont
3. Sandhills
4. Coastal Plain (Inner and Outer)
5. Coastal Zone

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,

and Georgia basically have the same
geographic regions
Blue Ridge
Located in the extreme
northwestern corner of the state
Smallest region Only 2% of the
states landmass
Elevations between 1400 3500
feet
Contains the oldest mountains in
America
Contains the states highest point
Sassafras Mountain (3564 ft.)
Piedmont
Means Foot of the Mountain
2nd largest region
Contains many of the large cities of
South Carolina
Often called the Upstate
Once a productive agricultural area
poor farming practices led to erosion
Thought to be a large plateau
Location of many textile companies
and automobile factories
Sandhills
Located in the middle of the
state
Often referred to as the
midlands
Named after the sandy nature
of the soil this is due to
leftover sand dunes from
when the Sandhills was South
Carolinas coastline
Coastal Plain
Largest of the regions
Broken up into two parts
Savannahs (wild grass
prairies)
Crops such as cotton,
soybeans, and peanuts
Forestry is an important
industry in the Outer Coastal
Plain
Location of Carolina Bays
Coastal Zone
Stretches from the beach
to 10 miles inland
The 1st settlement of South
Carolina occurred in this
area
Many marshlands, inlets,
bays, and barrier islands
Tourism is the major
economic force of the area
The Intracoastal
Waterway
The Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway
runs along the South
Carolina coast
This waterway was
designed to help ships
safely travel from
Boston to Key West, FL
River Systems of South Carolina
Pee Dee
Begins in NC and empties near Georgetown, SC
Santee
Largest system in SC
Savannah
Forms the boundary between Georgia and SC
Edisto
Not really a river system but rather a series of rivers
that drain in Southeast SC
South Carolinas Lakes
Most of South Carolinas lakes were created when dams
were built across rivers to use water to generate electricity
11 manmade lakes
Many of these lakes help cool the states nuclear power
plants
They were once used a great deal for transportation.
Today the lakes are used for recreation, energy, and water
reserves
Destructive Storms of South Carolina
Thunderstorms can produce strong wind, hail, severe
lightening, and tornadoes
Hurricanes can also strike South Carolina
Hugo was the last major hurricane to directly hit South
Carolina
Plant Life
Over 70% of South Carolina is covered by tree and plant
life
Many forests in the Piedmont were destroyed in the 18th
and 19th centuries to make room for cotton fields
Kudzu
Brought to SC from Japan in order to control erosion
Now presents a problem for SC by killing trees and
other plant life
Government
Our state government has 9
national Congressmen
7 Representatives
2 Senators
Henry McMaster is currently our
governor
The state legislature is bicameral
124 House of Representative
members
46 Senate members
State Symbols
Flower Yellow Jessamine
Bird Carolina Wren
Tree Sabel Palmetto
Dog Boykin Spaniel
Beverage Milk
Fruit Peach
Animal White Tailed Deer
Hospitality Beverage - Tea