Geographic and cultural region located along South Carolina's coast
The
Lowcountry
(sometimes
Low Country
or just
low country
) is a geographic and
cultural region
along
South Carolina
's coast, including the
Sea Islands
. The region includes significant
salt marshes
and other coastal waterways, making it an important source of biodiversity in South Carolina.
Once known for its slave-based agricultural wealth in rice and
indigo
, crops that flourished in the hot subtropical climate, the Lowcountry today is known for its historic cities and communities,
natural environment
, cultural heritage, and tourism industry. Demographically, the Lowcountry is still heavily dominated by
African American
communities, such as the
Gullah/Geechee
people.
[1]
As of the 2020 census, the population of the Lowcountry was 1,167,139.
Geography
[
edit
]
The term "Low Country" originally referred to all of the states below the
Fall Line
, or the
Sandhills
, which run the width of the states from Aiken County to Chesterfield County. The Sandhills, or Carolina Sandhills, is a 15?60 km wide region within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, along the inland margin of this province. The Carolina Sandhills are interpreted as eolian (wind-blown) sand sheets and dunes that were mobilized episodically approximately 75,000 to 6,000 years ago.
[2]
Most of the published
luminescence
ages from the sand are coincident with the last glaciation, a time when the southeastern United States had colder air temperatures and stronger winds. The area above the Sandhills is known as "Upstate" or "Upcountry". These areas are different in geology, geography, and culture.
There are several variations in the geographic extent of the "Lowcountry" area. The most commonly accepted definition includes
Charleston
,
Dorchester
,
Beaufort
,
Georgetown
,
Colleton
,
Hampton
,
Berkeley
,
Jasper
, and
Williamsburg
Counties, often described as the area encompassing the basins of
Cooper River
,
Santee River
, ACE (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto),
Winyah Bay
, and
Savannah River
.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
Some include
Marion
and
Horry
Counties.
[7]
Dillon County
is included in the Lowcountry by the largest group of healthcare executives in the state.
[8]
Four counties are covered by the Lowcountry
Council of Governments
, a regional governmental entity charged with regional and transportation planning,
[9]
and are the ones included in the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism's "Lowcountry and Resort Islands" area.
[10]
The area includes the
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
Technically, the Lowcountry is synonymous with the areas with a large population of
Gullah Geechee
peoples of the region.
Gullah Geechee
people have traditionally resided in the coastal areas and the sea islands of
North Carolina
,
South Carolina
,
Georgia
and
Florida
?from
Pender County, North Carolina
, to
St. Johns County, Florida
.
[11]
[12]
[13]
Tourism
[
edit
]
The tourism industry has been a vibrant part of the region's economy since the beginning of the 20th century.
[14]
The tourism commission advertises both nature-based tourism and historic sites.
[15]
[16]
The pressure of the tourism industry on the coast both encroaches on marshland and places pressure on African American communities.
[1]
[17]
[16]
The industry tends to emphasize the
Gullah Geechee
cultural tradition as part of the
Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor
.
[13]
Important to this cultural tradition are traditional
sweetgrass
baskets.
[18]
But, harvesting natural sweetgrass is under pressure from both development and overharvesting.
[13]
Mary Jackson
was awarded a
MacArthur Fellowship
for her work making sweetgrass baskets.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Moore, Dasia (September 3, 2020).
"The environmental racism threatening South Carolina's Black communities"
.
Quartz
. Retrieved
March 27,
2022
.
- ^
Swezey, C.S., Fitzwater, B.A., Whittecar, G.R., Mahan, S.A., Garrity, C.P., Aleman Gonzalez, W.B., and Dobbs, K.M., 2016, "The Carolina Sandhills: Quaternary eolian sand sheets and dunes along the updip margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, southeastern United States": Quaternary Research, v. 86, p. 271-286;
doi
:
10.1016/j.yqres.2016.08.007
- ^
"Lowcountry Initiative - Conservation Easements"
.
- ^
"Ernest F. Hollings Ace Basin National Wildlife Refuge"
.
- ^
"Ducks Unlimited Lowcountry Initiative - Focus Areas and Protected Lands"
(PDF)
.
Ducks Unlimited
.
- ^
"What Exactly is Lowcountry Cooking?"
. August 19, 2015.
- ^
"Land Conservation - Lowcountry - Strategy and Guidelines"
.
- ^
"About Us"
.
- ^
Lowcountry Council of Governments
Archived
September 5, 2015, at the
Wayback Machine
official website.
- ^
Tourism Regions
(map) at South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism official website.
- ^
"Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission"
. Retrieved
May 7,
2023
.
- ^
"Where to Go ? Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission"
.
- ^
a
b
c
Hurley, Patrick T.; Halfacre, Angela C. (August 1, 2011).
"Dodging alligators, rattlesnakes, and backyard docks: a political ecology of sweetgrass basket-making and conservation in the South Carolina Lowcountry, USA"
.
GeoJournal
.
76
(4): 383?399.
doi
:
10.1007/s10708-009-9276-7
.
ISSN
1572-9893
.
S2CID
154309657
.
- ^
"Lowcountry Tourism | Lowcountry Digital Library"
. Retrieved
March 27,
2022
.
- ^
"South Carolina Lowcountry ? The Lowcountry Region"
.
South Carolina Lowcountry
. April 11, 2011
. Retrieved
March 27,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Faulkenberry, Lisa; Coggeshall, John; Backman, Kenneth; Backman, Sheila (October 15, 2007).
"A Culture of Servitude: The Impact of Tourism and Development on South Carolina's Coast"
.
Human Organization
.
59
(1): 86?95.
doi
:
10.17730/humo.59.1.353730461t724j02
.
ISSN
0018-7259
.
- ^
"Climate change is having an adverse effect on South Carolina's Low Country"
.
NPR.org
. Retrieved
March 27,
2022
.
- ^
Rosengarten, Dale; Museum, McKissick (April 20, 2022).
Row Upon Row: Sea Grass Baskets of the South Carolina Lowcountry
. Univ of South Carolina Press.
ISBN
978-1-64336-274-8
.
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33°07′34″N
80°00′32″W
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33.1260618°N 80.0087746°W
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33.1260618; -80.0087746