South Carolina Landform Regions
SC
(and facts about Landforms)
Earth
Where is South Carolina?
North America
United States of America
SC
Here we are!
South Carolina
borders the
Atlantic Ocean.
SC
South Carolina Landform Regions Map
Our state is
divided into
regions,
starting at the
mountains and
going down to
the coast.
Do you remember your 3rd grade South Carolina Landform
Regions? Can you name these?
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
SC
The Blue Ridge
Mountain Region
is only 2% of the
South Carolina
land mass.
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
Types of Mountains
Folded mountains form when rock layers
squeezed from opposite sides buckle and
fold. The Appalachians, or Blue Ridge
Mountains are Folded mountains.
Blue Ridge Mountains, SC
Upwarped Mountains
Types of Mountains
Upwarped mountains form when crust is
pushed up by forces inside of the Earth.
Examples: Southern Rocky Mountains and
Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains, NY
Yes! There are really mountains in the state of
New York!
Fault Block Mountains
Types of 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.)
The Tetons
Volcanic Mountains
Types of 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.)
Crater Lake,
Oregon—see
the cone
island in the
water.
The Cascades is a volcanic
mountain range in the
Northwestern United States.
Mt. St. Helens, Washington
The water in Crater Lake, Oregon
is just this blue!
Mt. Ranier, Washington
Greenville
Spartanburg
Union
Greenwood
Rock Hill
Abbeville
Piedmont Landform Regions
SC
If you could see the
Piedmont Region from
space and without the
foliage, you would
notice it is sort of a
huge plateau.
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?
Columbia, Our State Capitol
Sandhills
Landform Regions
SC
Do you wonder why
the Sandhills are so
sandy? They used to
be the coastline of
North America
millions of years ago.
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.
Aiken
Orangeburg
Sumter
Florence
Coastal Plain Landform Regions
SC
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.
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.
Hilton Head
Beaufort
Charleston
Coastal Zone
Myrtle Beach
Landform Regions
SC
Take a look at the
city map of South
Carolina. You can
name the cities in
the Coastal Zone.
Georgetown
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.