South Carolina Landform Regions (and facts about Landforms) SC

Where is South Carolina? Here we are! South Carolina borders the Atlantic Ocean. North America United States of America Earth SC

South Carolina Landform Regions Map Do you remember your 3 rd grade South Carolina Landform Regions? Can you name these? Our state is divided into regions, starting at the mountains and going down to the coast. SC

Did You Know? Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia The Southern Atlantic States have about the same regions as we do in South Carolina. So, during this study, you will also hear about other states. What you hear about that landform region in Virginia, for example, is much the same in South Carolina.

Blue Ridge Mountains Landform Regions The Blue Ridge Mountain Region is only 2% of the South Carolina land mass. SC

Facts About the Blue Ridge Mountains... 1, The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range. 2. Many streams begin in the mountains. 3. These are the oldest mountains in America. 4. The Blue Ridge Mountains are Folding Mountains. 5. The Blue Ridge Region takes up only 2% of South Carolina’s land mass.

Types of Mountains There are four different types of mountains: Folded Mountains Upwarped Mountains Fault Block Mountains Volcanic Mountains

Folded Mountains Folded mountains form when rock layers squeezed from opposite sides buckle and fold. The Appalachians, or Blue Ridge Mountains are Folded mountains. Types of Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains, SC

Upwarped Mountains Upwarped mountains form when crust is pushed up by forces inside of the Earth. Examples: Southern Rocky Mountains and Adirondack Mountains Types of Mountains

Adirondack Mountains, NY Yes! There are really mountains in the state of New York!

Fault Block Mountains Fault-block mountains are made up of huge tilted blocks of rock which are separated from surrounding rock by faults. (Examples: Grand Tetons and Sierra Nevada Mountains.) Types of Mountains

The Tetons

Volcanic Mountains Volcanic Mountains are cone-shaped mountains created from pile-up of molten materials. (Examples: The Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington, and the Hawaiian Islands.) Types of Mountains

Mt. Ranier, Washington Mt. St. Helens, Washington The water in Crater Lake, Oregon is just this blue! The Cascades is a volcanic mountain range in the Northwestern United States. Crater Lake, Oregon—see the cone island in the water.

Piedmont Landform Regions If you could see the Piedmont Region from space and without the foliage, you would notice it is sort of a huge plateau. SC Greenville Spartanburg Union Greenwood Rock Hill Abbeville

Facts About the Piedmont Region... 1.The Piedmont is the largest region of South Carolina. 2. The Piedmont is thought to be a large plateau (raised high land that is usually flat on the top). 3. The Piedmont is NOT flat, but is hilly. 4. The Piedmont contains many of our largest cities in South Carolina. 5. The Piedmont is often called The Upstate.

Sandhills Landform Regions Do you wonder why the Sandhills are so sandy? They used to be the coastline of North America millions of years ago. SC Columbia, Our State Capitol

Four Facts About the Sandhills Region The Sandhills are covered with the left over sand dunes when it was SC’s coastline millions of years ago. 2. The Sandhills are next to the fall line where the land slopes down and the rivers become waterfalls. 3. The Sandhills are hilly. 4. The Sandhills has softer ground than the Piedmont.

How are sand dunes formed? All sand dunes are formed the same way. Every single one is a pile of sand built up by the wind. Once the sand has been picked up by the wind, it will go wherever the wind carries it. Even though most sand dunes are made of the same material and formed in the same way, they vary widely in appearance.

Coastal Plain Landform Regions There is an Inner and Outer Coastal Plain. Can you see the dividing line? This area was once in the ocean millions of years ago. SC Aiken Orangeburg Sumter Florence

Facts About The Coastal Plains 1. The Coastal Plains are very wet. 2. The Coastal Plains used to be under the ocean millions of years ago. 3. The Coastal Plains have savannahs, which are wild grass prairies. 4. The Coastal Plains have a lot of swamps and marshlands. 5. Because of sediment that settled in the ocean millions of years ago over the Coastal Plains, there is a lot of Sedimentary Rock in this area. 6. The Coastal Plains are flat in most areas.

What is sediment? Sediment (n.) Material that settles to the bottom of a liquid What kind of sediment settled in the Inner and Outer Coastal Plains millions of years ago when they were covered with oceans? This sediment forms layers of rock called Sedimentary Rock.

What Happened? What happened to all that sedimentary rock that is supposed to be in the Inner and Outer Coastal Plains? The coastal plains are fairly flat, so the rock has that eroded over the last million or so years has stayed in the same place as soil instead of washing away. There is no new rock exposed from erosion, so you do not see sediment! Don’t you think the sediment must have eroded into soil along time ago?

Flat? Another thing about the Coastal Plains— Geologists have learned that the coastal plain stair-steps down gradually with six flats and seven slopes. They believe that this happened as the ocean receded (moved backward) throughout thousands of years.

Coastal Zone Landform Regions Take a look at the city map of South Carolina. You can name the cities in the Coastal Zone. SC Hilton Head Beaufort Charleston Georgetown Myrtle Beach

Facts About the Coastal Zone 1. It borders the Atlantic Ocean. 2. It has sand dunes. 3. It has marshlands, inlets, bays, barrier islands. 4. It had Palmetto and Palm trees. 5. It has beaches. 6. It is often battered by hurricanes.

How did cities begin in South Carolina? Take a look at the South Carolina Cities Map to learn where the main cities are placed. Then look at the Rivers and Streams Map. Can you see learn anything by comparing the two maps? Hint: How were rivers used when the South Carolina colony was beginning to settle?

South Carolina Cities Map

SC Rivers