The coastal bays, inlets, salt marshes, and estuaries of South
Carolina have become an ever-increasing attraction to vacationers, photographers,
anglers, hunters, and naturalists, because the landscape is so different
from the inland areas. The Winyah Bay area contains examples of pristine
tidal flat and salt marsh environments as well as the remnants of rice
fields and other historical land uses. The remnants of once thriving
plantations provide an understanding of a long discarded way of life.
The estuary itself is a breeding ground for many sea creatures. Estuaries
provide an abundant food supply for fish and shellfish, offer excellent
habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife, serve as a filter for pollution,
and furnish a protective barrier against storms from the ocean. Winyah
Bay also borders the port city of Georgetown, which even today plays a
major role in the economy of the Coastal Zone.
Background Information Description of Landforms,
Drainage Patterns, and Geologic Processes Characteristic Landforms
of Estuaries and Tidal Flats
Geographic Features of Special
Interest
Types of Estuaries
Processes Shaping South
Carolina's Coast
Movement of Sand
Influence of Topography
on Historical Events and Cultural Trends Rice Plantation Era
Rice Became a Culture as
Well as a Crop
Decline of Rice Exports
After the Civil War
Natural Resources, Land
Use, and Environmental Concerns Soils of Beaches and Salt
Marshes
Ecological Significance
of Estuaries and Salt Marshes
Non-Point Source Pollution
in Coastal Waterways
Study Site 10A--Winyah Basin (Rice Culture) Brief Site Description Old Beach Ridges
Bellefield Plantation
Rice Cultivation
Slavery on Waccammaw River
Rice Plantations
Trickster Tales
Activity 10A-1: Plantations
and the Rice Culture
