South Carolina is a state in the southeastern United States, one of the so-called South Atlantic states. Capital: ColumbiaMotto: Smiling faces, beautiful places (eng. Smiling faces, beautiful places) Nickname: “sabal palm state”
STATE NAME
The name of the state of South Carolina comes from the name of the province of Carolina, a British colony in North America, which in 1712 was divided into North Carolina and South Carolina. In turn, the province of Carolina was named by the English king Charles II in honor of his father, King Charles I ( in Latin – Carolus).
GEOGRAPHY
The state of South Carolina is located in the South of the United States and belongs to the South Atlantic states of the United States. The territory of the state of South Carolina is 82,931 km2 (the fortieth place among the US states). South Carolina borders the states of North Carolina in the north and Georgia in the south. In the east, the coast of South Carolina is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. South Carolina is located in the eastern time zone of the United States. Four main physiographic regions are distinguished in South Carolina: the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwest, the Piedmont Plateau and the Sandhills Hills in the central part of the state, as well as coastal lowlands in the east.
CLIMATE
South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate with long hot summers and very mild winters. Precipitation here is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, and on the coast and in the central regions (more exposed to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean), summer is more rainy than in the western districts. In the mountainous regions, snow falls every year; in the east of the state, this is a fairly rare occurrence.
The average temperature of the coldest winter month in Greenville, located in the foothills of the Appalachians, is from 0°C to 11°C, and the hottest summer month is from 21°C to 32°C. In the capital of South Carolina, Columbia, in January, the temperature usually ranges from 1°C to 13°C, and in July – from 22°C to 34°C. On the coast of the state, in Charleston, winter temperatures range from 3 ° C to 15 ° C, and in summer – from 23 ° C to 331 ° C. South Carolina, like other Atlantic states of the United States, often suffers from the elements, in primarily hurricanes and tropical storms. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are also not uncommon here.
ECONOMY
Until the middle of the 20th century, South Carolina’s economy was based almost entirely on agriculture (with cotton as the main crop) and on the processing of its products. Industrial production was represented only by numerous textile factories and sawmills. The state cannot boast of mineral reserves; only sand, gravel and some other building materials are mined here.
In recent decades, the state’s economy has become much more diversified, along with the rapid growth of industry, the service sector, education, transportation (the port of Charleston is one of the largest on the east coast of the United States of America), and agriculture is no longer focused on one culture. Tourism plays an increasingly important role in the economy of the Palm State. Modern South Carolina is characterized by a wide variety of manufactured industrial products, and in recent years more and more new factories have been opened in the state.
TOURISM
Numerous historical sites, the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains in western South Carolina and the sandy beaches of the coast in the Grand Strand region attract millions of tourists to the Palm State. Although the mountains occupy a very small part of South Carolina, they also attract many tourists, especially nature reserves ( state parks) Table Rock, Caesars Head, and the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. Flowing on the border with Georgia, the Chattooga River is very popular with rafting enthusiasts.
