INTRODUCTION ' 



BY 



Paul Marshall Rea 

 Director of The Charleston Museum 



PHYSICAL DIVISIONS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



The state of South Carolina is composed of three distinct topo- 

 graphic areas: (1) The Appalachian or Alpine Region, compris- 

 ing the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in the extreme 

 northwestern part of the State; (2) the Piedmont Region, geologi- 

 cally the oldest portion of the State, lying between the Appa- 

 lachian Region and the ' ' fall line, ' ' which passes through Camden, 

 Columbia, and Augusta, and marks the transition to the softer 

 formations of (3) the Coast Region, extending from the fall 

 line to the ocean. 



These regions have been well characterized in a work published 

 by the State Board of Agriculture.' In that work, however, 

 the term "coast region" is applied only to the sea islands, the 

 salt marshes, and the coast north of Santee River and George- 

 town entrance, while the term as used by the Charleston Museum 

 is co-extensive with the geological coastal plain. 



The Coast Region, as the term is used in this work, may be 

 divided for ornithological purposes into (1) the Sea Islands, (2) 

 the Salt Marshes, (3) the Freshwater Swamps, (4) the River Rice 

 Fields, (5) the Inland Rice Fields and Reservoirs, and (6) Main 

 Land. 



The Sea Islands are barrier beaches, consisting of sand dunes 

 and arable land devoted to truck farming and sea-island cotton, 

 and are said to contain about eight hundred square miles. 



The Salt Marshes lie between the sea islands and the main land, 

 and along the rivers to the head of tide water. Their area is es- 

 timated at six hundred square miles. 



The Freshwater Swamps occupy extensive regions beyond the 



' This''introduction has been prepared at the request of Mr. Wayne, who was prevented 

 from writing it by proloni?ed illness. The lists of species and other information have 

 been furnished by Mr. Wayne. — Ed. 



' South Carolina. Resources and Population. Institutions and Industries. Pub- 

 lished by the State Board of Agriculture of South Carolina. Charleston, S. C, 1883. 



