 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The coast is dear to Carolina beach dwellers.
Efforts to keep the beaches clean, safe and sparkling are strong
throughout its 500-mile shoreline.
Photo courtesy of Sea Trail |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Did the Native Americans love them too?
We know waterfalls attract photographers. Seems like those
who came before cameras were invented found rapture in these mountainside
wonders as well.
Photo courtesy of The Cliffs |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Geography of the Tempting Terrain |
|
kay. Here's what we don't have: A volcano, a desert and a prairie. Nor do we
have a bayou, or a New York or Atlanta. But, here's what we do have:
Rolling green hills.
These are a paradise for cows and other cudsy creatures -
and the car-bound humans who pass them and sigh.
The ancient Blue Ridge Mountains, the oldest on the continent. They're yellow,
red and orange in the autumn, green in spring, summer and winter, and blue from
a distance.
Waterfalls both grand and unassuming sparkle in the sun. Get a cabin
and experience it first hand, or take in the air on the balcony of a mountain
inn.
Ummmm.
The seductive Atlantic Ocean - 500 miles of coastline means plenty of dunes, sea
oats and salty fun for millions of visitors and residents.
"North Carolina has it all from the mountains to the sand," Jule Garrish sings
in "Touring the Outer Banks." This tune, included in a collection of songs from
Ocracoke, the southern island of the Outer Banks, could be the anthem for those
who love a trade winds lifestyle.
Rivers galore. Some are mighty, some are mild. They're good for fishing, swimming,
canoeing, kayaking and white water rafting.
Most are pretty darn cold, although
the Edisto in South Carolina, the longest blackwater river east of the Mississippi,
is wonderfully refreshing in the summer. It also has a firm white sandy bottom.
In other words, no squish factor.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
orests. Thick and green, many are well marked with trails. Books on Carolina
trails abound. This is your chance to get a mountain bike and learn how to recognize
poison ivy.
Lakes. Some are natural, some are man-made. All offer amenities for nearby communities,
and often mark borders between states or counties. Rent a houseboat and do some
reading, fishing, swimming or just vegetating. You've got hundreds of choices.
"I think one central characteristic is diversity," reflects Dr. John Winberry,
geography professor at the University of South Carolina and associate dean of
its graduate school. "We have mountains up to 3,500 feet in the northwest of South
Carolina to the seacoast, with a range of geographic expressions in between. And
it's the same in North Carolina, except on a larger scale."
|
|
|
|
|
Blue mountains, green valleys, crystal sparkling lakes and wide sandy beaches.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Winberry, a New Orleans native, finds the Carolina terrain "fascinating."
Although his move from the Big Easy 30 years ago was anything but easy - he even
calls it "traumatic," Dr. Winberry says Columbia is home now. "It's intriguing
when you think about how much I've come to enjoy and think highly of and even
love the Carolinas," he says. "I've traveled the county and country roads and
stopped and talked to people and they've been very friendly, receptive and open."
By touring back roads, Dr. Winberry can trace the connection between Carolina
geography, history, people and their lifeways. "There's always something one will
encounter," he points out. "There are remnants of some industrial feature, like
a cotton mill, and towns that have disappeared except for some storefronts, and
homes that have been abandoned and schools that have changed. And these are all
a part of the Carolinas."
The hard-scrabble textile culture of the upper Piedmont gives way to the lower
Piedmont's cotton plantations that were abandoned in the mid-20th Century. North
Carolina's vast tobacco farms in the Coastal Plain spill into the Pee Dee of South
Carolina.
Students of geography will note that the Carolinas are divided into three physiographic
regions: the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont Plateau and the Mountain Region. The
latter is composed of the Appalachians in western North Carolina and the Blue
Ridge mountains in South Carolina's northwestern corner. The three counties of
Oconee, Pickens and Anderson call themselves "The Golden Corner," and signal the
northern part of "The Freshwater Coast."
|
|
|
|
|
"I came here 31 years ago
thinking I'd stay three or four years and then go to a better place. Then I discovered
I'd gone to a better place."
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distinguished by the lengthy Savannah River, which forms the border between South
Carolina and Georgia, The Freshwater Coast capitalizes on its fine fishing, thick
forests and clear lakes formed by the river.
The most dramatic terrain can be found in North Carolina. "Variety Vacationland"
was the Tar Heel tourism slogan for years, and John Florin, associate professor
of geography at UNC-Chapel Hill, says it's perfect. "I came here 31 years ago
thinking I'd stay three or four years and then go to a better place. Then I discovered
I'd gone to a better place."
Like Dr. Winberry, Mr. Florin says diversity is the most distinguishing factor
of Carolina geography. And the human environment the diversity has spawned provides
plenty of fodder for classroom discussion. "The most remarkable thing is the way
in which we are spread across the state in a large number of smaller cities and
towns, rather than being concentrated in larger urban areas. For instance, half
of all the people in Georgia live in Atlanta."
That's not at all true of Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city, or Columbia,
South Carolina's largest. In fact, North Carolina ranks 49 and South Carolina
43 of states with cities that hold its largest populations.
Several moderate-sized cities and many small towns create a very livable environment,
Mr. Florin believes. "We are more likely to have a population that lives in a
rural area and works in an urban area, because our cities are spread out and they're
accessible. We have a whole array of regional centers, and none of them grew to
dominate."
|
|
|
|
|
All this variety makes it tough to decide where to take that quick weekend getaway
or extended family vacation.
|
|
|
|
|
Because North Carolina's coast was harder to reach than South Carolina's and Virginia's,
it never established the aristocratic low country cities that were based on the
plantation culture, Mr. Florin says. But the mountain areas in the Old North State
are more populated than in the Palmetto State, and as appreciated as the coast.
"The students we get from the mountains have an uncommon tie to place," he observes.
"They love home, and they love the mountains and respect the mountains, and have
an uncommon sense of the beauty of where they're from."
Still, a typical North Carolina question is, "What's your favorite beach?" For
Mr. Florin, it's Sunset Beach, which he loves for its old-fashioned bridge and
proximity to Calabash's string of seafood restaurants. Because South Carolina
is smaller, a mountain dweller can reach the ocean in 250 miles. It's 500 miles
from the mountains to the coast in North Carolina.
All this variety makes it tough to decide where to take that quick weekend getaway
or extended family vacation. Will it be a week at the beach in a rustic cottage
with wooden floors - windows flung open to let in the air? Or a wintry stay in
a mountain chalet, with skiing and hot chocolate?
Decisions, decisions. Life here is just so hard.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Aida Rogers has worked in newspapers,
magazines, legal newsletters, and television.
The USC graduate and Lexington, SC native currently is
managing editor of Sandlapper, The Magazine of South Carolina,
for which she writes a column about the most popular restaurants
in The Palmetto State. Call her with your favorites at 803-808-1664.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
