South
Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The
Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that revolted against
British rule in the American Revolution. The state is named after King
Charles I of England. As of 2000, the state's population is 4,012,012.
The USS South Carolina was named in honor of this state.
History and government
On February 5, 1778 South Carolina became the first state to ratify the
first constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation.
South
Carolina was the first state which tried to secede from the United States,
to form the Confederate States of America, precipitating the Civil War. The
initial battle of this war happened at Fort Sumter, which stands on an
island in Charleston harbor.
Demographics
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2003, South Carolina's population
was estimated at 4,147,152 people.
The racial makeup of the state is:
67.2% White
29.5% Black
2.4% Hispanic or Latino
0.9% Asian
0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native
1% from other races
1% belong to two or more races
The top 5 ancestry groups in South Carolina are African American (29.5%),
American (13.7%), German (8.4%), English (8.2%), Irish (7.9%).
The 5 largest religions in South Carolina are Baptist (43%), Methodist
(14%), Roman Catholic (7%), Christian (6%), Presbyterian (5%). 7% of the
population is nonreligious.
6.6% of South Carolina's population were reported as under 5, 25.2% under
18, and 12.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the
population.
Geography
South Carolina is bounded to the north by North Carolina, to the south and
west by Georgia, across the Savannah River, and to the east by the Atlantic
Ocean. The capital and largest city is Columbia. Other important cities are
Charleston, Greenville, and Spartanburg.
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, which is nearly flat, composed entirely
of recent sediments such as sand, silt and clay. Its better drained areas
make excellent farmland, though some land is swampy. Rising sea has drowned
some of the coastline, creating 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 origin of which is
uncertain, though a prominent theory is that they were created by a meteor
shower. The bays all tend to be oval, lining up in a northwest to southeast
orientation.
Just west of the coastal plain is a thin strip of sand hills which are
thought to be remnants of old coastal dunes from a time when the land was
sunken or the oceans were higher.
Next comes the piedmont, which is the roots of an old mountain chain that
has been almost entirely eroded away. It tends to be hilly, with thin, stony
clay soils, except for a few pockets of good farm land. Much of the Piedmont
was once farmed but found wanting and is now reforested. At the 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 and mills that uses this
resource were the stimulus for several cities, including the capital,
Columbia. The larger rivers are navigable up to the fall line, so this
provided a trade route for the growing fall line mill towns.
The upper part of the Piedmont is also known as the mountain foothills. The
Cherokee Parkway has established a very scenic route through this area.
Finally the last geographic province is the mountains, which is only a small
part of northwestern South Carolina, but continues into North Carolina and
Georgia, as part of the southern Appalachian chain. In these mountains is
Sassafras Mountain, South Carolina's highest point at an elevation of 3560
feet. Also in the mountains are the tourist areas of Table Rock and Caesar's
Head. The Chatooga River is a favorite whitewater rafting place and was the
scene of the movie Deliverance.
