South Carolina is a state of the United States of America and, like North Carolina, was named after the Latin name Carolus for the English King Charles I. Its nickname is Palmetto State.
The US state of South Carolina
Beach house in South Carolina
In the extreme northwest, South Carolina shares part of the Appalachian Mountains. South Carolina is 82,932 km² – slightly smaller than Austria – and has about 4.6 million inhabitants, of which about 30% are African American and 5% Latino. About 131,000 people live in the capital Columbia, which lies halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The traditional capital is Charleston on the coast, more and more holidaymakers are coming to the Atlantic coast for the pleasant climate. South Carolina is the eighth founding state of the United States.
South Carolina is bordered by North Carolina to the north, Georgia to the south and west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
South Carolina has four geographical structures: The lowest part is the Coastal Plain, the coastal plain, which is very flat. Immediately to the west of the coastal plain is the Sandhills Region, which contains larger sand hills that are the result of sand dunes from geological periods when the seas varied.
The Piedmont is essentially formed by old eroded mountain strata. It is partially interspersed with hills. The upper part of the Piedmont is called the Foothills. There the Cherokee Parkway runs with good prospects; Table Rock State Park is also located here.
The highest elevation is the Upstate, which contains a spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains that runs into Georgia and North Carolina as part of the Appalachian Belt. Here is also the Sassafras Mountain, at 1085 m the highest mountain in South Carolina.
Biggest cities
The largest cities in South Carolina with their population (rounded).
- Columbia 129,000
- Charleston 120,000
- North Charleston 97,000
- Mount Pleasant 68,000
- Rock Hill 66,000
Climate and weather
Edisto Island
A subtropical climate already prevails on the coast of South Carolina, so that the winters here can be pleasantly moderate and the summers can be quite hot with up to 30 degrees. It rains most in the summer months, but these are usually only short showers of short duration.
The water temperature in summer climbs to a very comfortable 25-26 degrees. So just right great bathing weather, which more and more vacation and holiday guests in the region are taking advantage of. The hundreds of kilometers of beach, such as at Myrtle Beach, look forward to your visit. In the Blue Ridge Mountains the weather is still humid but moderate.