South Carolina Landform Regions

(and facts about Landforms)

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Where is South Carolina?

Here we are! South Carolina borders the Atlantic Ocean.

North America

United States of America

Earth

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South Carolina Landform Regions Map

Do you remember your 3rd 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.

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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 MountainsLandform Regions

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

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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 MountainsUpwarped MountainsFault 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.

PiedmontLandform Regions

If you could see the Piedmont Region from space and without the foliage, you would notice it is sort of a huge plateau.

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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.

What do we know about the Piedmont of the Southeastern Atlantic States?

Let’s watch a three minute video showing us about the Piedmont.

You will look for information about the “fall line” that divides the higher Piedmont region from the lower, softer, Coastal Plain region.

You will find out how early pioneers used the rivers and waterfalls to their advantage.

What do we know about the Piedmont Region of our Southeastern States?

The Piedmont of the Southeastern States, StreamlineSC

Movie Follow-Up

What IS the fall line?

How did the fall line hurt transportation in the early years of our country?

What did the settlers build at the fall line so they could use the power from the falls?

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.

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Columbia, Our State Capitol

Four Facts About the Sandhills Region . . .

1. 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 PlainLandform 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.

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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.

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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 Pioneers Use the Coastal Zone?

What did the pioneers grow in the Coastal Zone? Why did they grow this crop?

Watch a one-minute video to find out.

StreamlineSC Video

Name a way that pioneers used the Coastal Zone of South Carolina.

Along the Southern Coastline, StreamlineSC

Movie Follow-Up

What crop DID the settlers grow in the Coastal Zone?

Why was this crop grown in this region?

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

Remember . . .

There are five landform regions in South Carolina:

Blue Ridge Mountains Piedmont Sandhills Inner Coastal Plain Outer Coastal Plain Coastal Zone

South Carolina 5th Grade Science Curriculum Standard

Structure of the Earth’s System

Locate and describe the characteristics of South Carolina landform regions such as Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plains, and Coastal Zone.

Define constructive forces, which include crustal deformation (folding and faulting), volcanic eruptions, and deposition of sediment.)

Describe how landforms are created as a result of constructive forces.