ABSTRACT
The Coastal Plain is the largest landform region in South Carolina. The landform region can be divided into the Inner Coastal Plain and the Outer Coastal Plain. Distinctive among landform features of the Coastal Plain province are the Carolina bays. Modern-day construction of reservoirs, destruction of sand dunes and coastal marshes, and planting of pine trees continue the pattern of human-induced change. The Sandhills overlap what is called the Fall Line, which runs northeast-southwest through the Midlands and separates the Piedmont and Coastal Plain. The rivers and streams of South Carolina have been and continue to be active forces in shaping the state’s physical geography, but they also have influenced the formation of the cultural landscape. Native North Americans often located settlements near streams, and many of their trails paralleled the courses of streams. The major impounded water bodies in South Carolina were all constructed during the twentieth century and include Lakes Wateree.
