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South Carolina (IPA: /ˌsɑʊθˌkɛrəˈlaɪnə/) is a state in the southern region of the United States of America. Originally known as Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. It was the first state to secede from the Union and was part of the Confederate States of America. The state is named after King Charles II, as Carolus is Latin for Charles. According to the 2006 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau, the state's population is 4,321,249 ranked 24th.
South Carolina is bordered to the north by North Carolina; to the south and west by Georgia, located across the Savannah River; and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean.
South Carolina is composed of four geographic areas, whose boundaries roughly parallel the northeast/southwest Atlantic coastline. The lower part of the state is the Coastal Plain, also known as the Lowcountry, which is nearly flat and composed entirely of recent sediments such as sand, silt, and clay. Areas with better drainage make excellent farmland, though some land is swampy. The coastline contains many salt marshes and estuaries, as well as natural ports such as Georgetown and Charleston. An unusual feature of the coastal plain is a large number of Carolina bays, the origins of which are uncertain, though one prominent theory suggests that they were created by a meteor shower. The bays tend to be oval, lining up in a northwest to southeast orientation.
Just west of the coastal plain is the Sandhills region, which is thought to contain remnants of old coastal dunes from a time when the land was sunken or the oceans were higher.
The Piedmont (Upstate) region contains the roots of an ancient, eroded mountain chain. It is generally hilly, with thin, stony clay soils, and contains few areas suitable for farming. Much of the Piedmont was once farmed, with little success. It is now reforested. At the southeastern edge of the Piedmont is the fall line, where rivers drop to the coastal plain. The fall line was an important early source of water power. Mills built to harness this resource encouraged the growth of several cities, including the capital, Columbia. The larger rivers are navigable up to the fall line, providing a trade route for mill towns.
The northwestern part of the Piedmont is also known as the Foothills. The Cherokee Parkway is a scenic driving route through this area. This is where Table Rock State Park is located.
Highest in elevation is the Upstate, containing an escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which continue into North Carolina and Georgia, as part of the southern Appalachian chain. Sassafras Mountain, South Carolina's highest point at 3,560 feet (1,085 m) is located in this area.[1] Also located in the Upcountry is Table Rock State Park and Caesars Head State Park. The Chattooga River, located on the border between South Carolina and Georgia, is a favorite whitewater rafting destination.
Earthquakes do occasionally occur in South Carolina. The greatest frequency is in the extreme southeastern corner of the state, in the Charleston area. The greatest earthquake in South Carolina occurred in Charleston on September 1, 1886. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed 60 people and destroyed much of the city.[6] A 2007 earthquake affected the state capital, Columbia. The earthquake was centered near Cayce. South Carolina averages 10-15 earthquakes a year below magnitude 3 (FEMA). Multiple strikes are known to occur. On September 22, 2006 a 3.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Marlboro county (in the northeastern part of the state). On September 25, 2006 a second 3.7 magnitude earthquake struck less than 10 miles from the first. Many homes near the epicenter, had cracks and a few windows were broken. The 3.5 quake caused beds to slightly shake about 15 miles to the south of the epicenter according to geologist Brian Schnirel from the Leeway Corucia Research Center (Marlboro Shopper September 2006).
South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen climate classification Cfa), although high elevation areas in the "Upstate" area have less subtropical characteristics than areas on the Atlantic coastline. In the summer, South Carolina is hot and humid with daytime temperatures averaging between 86-103 degrees Fahrenheit in most of the state and overnight lows over 80 °F on the coast and in the high 70s°F further inland. Winter temperatures are much less uniform in South Carolina. Coastal areas of the state have very mild winters with high temperatures approaching an average of 60 °F (16 °C) and overnight lows in the 40s°F (5-8 °C). Further inland in the higher country, the average January overnight low is normally at about 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. While precipitation is abundant the entire year in almost the entire state, near the coast tends to have a slightly wetter summer, while inland March tends to be the wettest month.
Snowfall in South Carolina is not excessive with coastal areas receiving less than an inch (2.5 cm) on average. It isn't uncommon for areas on the coast (especially the southern coast) to receive no recordable snowfall in a given year, although it usually receives at least a small dusting of snow annually. The interior receives a little more snow, although nowhere in the state averages more than 6 inches (15 cm) of snow a year.
Freezing rain is in fact often more common in most of the state (except the extreme northwest corner of the state - the Upstate) than snowfall. Due to the common borderline freezing conditions, most bridges in South Carolina are marked -Bridge freezes before road does-. This is due to the heat from the ground keeping the road ice free longer than the surface of a bridge.
The state is prone to tropical cyclones. This is an annual concern during hurricane season, which is from June-November. The peak time of vulnerability for the southeast Atlantic coast is from early August to early October when the Cape Verde hurricane season lasts. Two memorable Category 4 hurricanes to hit South Carolina were Hazel (1954) and Hugo (1989). South Carolina averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity a year, which is less than some of the states further south, and it is slightly less vulnerable to tornadoes than the states which border on the Gulf of Mexico. Still, some notable tornadoes have struck South Carolina and the state averages around 14 tornadoes annually.[8] There have been no F-5 tornadoes but over a dozen F-4 tornadoes have occurred in many counties in South Carolina. An F-2 tornado (113-157 miles per hour) struck 8 miles SE of Blenheim in August 2004. This was a projection generated tornado from a feeder band from Hurricane Charley. This tornado uprooted a mature oak tree and ripped heavy Greek pillars from a home and placed one on top of the roof. Pine needles from an adjacent woods were stuck up and spun around in a solid cloud of needles. Roof shingles were torn off some homes. A Clayton Zone 3 (Hurricane resistance rating) rated mobile home held up with only roof shingle and skirting damage). As typical in a tornado, the skipping pattern produced results that some homes received little or no damage whereas, adjacent property was more heavily damaged. South Carolina's latitude often creates a situation, when the air is unstable, to have very warm air at the surface with very cold air aloft at the right height for significant hail formation.
The colony of Carolina was settled by English settlers, mostly from Barbados, sent by the Lords Proprietors in 1670, followed by French Huguenots. Most immigrants in the colonial period were African slaves, who constituted a majority of the colony's population throughout the period. The Carolina upcountry was settled largely by Scots-Irish migrants from Pennsylvania and Virginia, following the Great Wagon Road. The formal colony of "The Carolinas" split into two in 1712. South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719. The state declared its independence from Great Britain and set up its own government on March 15, 1776. On February 5, 1778, South Carolina became the first state to ratify the first constitution of the United States - the Articles of Confederation. The current United States Constitution was proposed for adoption by the States on September 17, 1787, and South Carolina was the 8th state to ratify it, on May 23, 1788.
The American Revolution caused a shock to slavery in the South. Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to British lines and fought with them and Loyalist troops; others secured their freedom by escaping. Estimates are that 25,000 slaves (30 percent of those in South Carolina) fled, migrated or died during the disruption of the war.South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860. On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries began shelling Fort Sumter and the American Civil War began. Charleston was effectively blockaded and the Union Navy seized the Sea Islands, driving off the plantation owners and setting up an experiment in freedom for the ex-slaves. South Carolina troops participated in the major Confederate campaigns, but no major battles were fought inland. General William Tecumseh Sherman marched through the state in early 1865, destroying numerous plantations, and captured the state capital of Columbia on February 17. Fires began that night and by next morning, most of the central city was destroyed.
Coastal towns and cities often have hurricane resistant Live oaks overarching the streets in historic neighborhoods, such as these on East Bay Street, Georgetown.After the war, South Carolina was reincorporated into the United States during Reconstruction. Under presidential Reconstruction (1865-66),freedmen (former slaves) were given limited rights. Under Radical reconstruction (1867-1877), a Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers and scalawags was in control, supported by Union army forces. The withdrawal of Union soldiers as part of the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction. Whites used paramilitary groups such as the Red Shirts to intimidate and terrorize black voters, and regained political control under conservative white "Redeemers" and pro-business Bourbon Democrats.
The state became a hotbed of racial and economic tensions during the Populist and Agrarian movements of the 1890s. With the new constitution of 1895, almost all blacks and many poor whites were effectively disfranchised by new requirements for poll taxes and literacy tests. By 1896 only 5,500 black voters remained on the registration rolls.[10] The 1900 census demonstrated the extent of disfranchisement: African Americans comprised more than 58% of the state's population, with a total of 782,509 citizens essentially without any political representation.[11] "Pitchfork Ben Tillman" controlled state politics from the 1890s to 1910 with a base among poor white farmers.