South Carolina’s history as a former member of the Confederacy gives it an infamous reputation. But there’s more to South Carolina than being the state of former rebels who fought to preserve slavery. Learn more with these 50 South Carolina facts.
- 01South Carolina covers an estimated area of 83,000 km².
- 02Water makes up an estimated 5,000 km² or 6% of the state’s total area.
- 03An estimated 5.12 million people live in the state today.
- 04This gives South Carolina an estimated population density of 61 people for every km².
- 05At its lowest point on the Atlantic Ocean, South Carolina has an elevation at exactly sea level.
South Carolina has distinct geography.
For one thing, only two states border South Carolina – North Carolina to the north and Georgia to the southwest. To the southeast, the state faces the Atlantic Ocean, with the Atlantic Coastal Plain dominating South Carolina’s eastern landscape. The Piedmont Plateau dominates the central landscape of the state and includes some of the oldest rocks on the planet. Scientists have found that they go as far back as the Paleozoic Era, between 541 and 252 million years ago.
Finally, the Blue Ridge dominates the state’s western landscape, parts of which even have an older age than Piedmont. Some of the mountains’ rocks go back to the Precambrian Era, at over 541 million years old. The Blue Ridge also includes South Carolina’s highest point, Sassafras Mountain.
An earthquake once devastated the state in 1886.
Specifically, the 1886 Charleston Earthquake, which took place on the morning of August 31 that year. With a magnitude between 6.9 and 7.3, it destroyed and damaged an estimated 2,000 buildings in Charleston, South Carolina. It also killed 60 people, with the extent of the damage costing an estimated $6 million at the time or $158 million today.
The earthquake also affected the rest of the state and extended to the rest of its neighbors. States as far away as Massachusetts and Louisiana felt the quake, as did distant islands like Cuba and Bermuda. Some scientists at the time even feared that the quake could cause Florida to break off from the rest of the continent.
South Carolina enjoys a uniform climate.
Specifically, a humid subtropical climate featuring hot and humid summers with mild winters. Temperatures generally average between 30 and 34 degrees Celsius in summer and between zero and 16 degrees Celsius in winter. Snow remains uncommon in South Carolina, with at most 6 inches of snow falling in a year. The higher elevations of the Blue Ridge make up the exception, though, with snow of up to 12 inches per year.
In contrast, plenty of rain falls in the state, with a maximum of 2 meters per year on average. Thunderstorms most commonly strike in summer and autumn, while hurricanes can strike in any season besides summer. Tornadoes may also strike in South Carolina, most commonly during spring.
Hurricane Hazel devastated the state in 1954.
Striking in October of that year, Hurricane Hazel had wind speeds of up to 215 kph, making it a Category 4 storm. Along the waterfront, it produced storm surges over 3 meters deep and destroyed an estimated 80% of all coastal buildings. In fact, the storm even flooded the barrier islands off the coast that supposedly protected them from flooding.
Scientists, however, attribute this not only to the storm but also the timing, with the storm making landfall during high tide. In the end, while only one person actually died from the storm, hundreds more suffered from various injuries. Damages amounted to an estimated $163 million, of which $61 million occurred along the coastal areas.
