50 state - South Carolina

South Carolina . .

The state flag of South Carolina was officially adopted in 1861. The flag has a white crescent moon and a white palmetto tree on a blue ground. On a blue backround are three white crescent moons which were first used on a South Carolina banner protesting the Stamp Act in 1765. In 1775, Colonel William Moultrie designed a banner for South Carolina troops; it had a white crescent moon on a blue field. When South Carolina seceded from the Union, the palmetto tree was added to the flag. The palmetto tree was chosen because this tree had helped South Carolinians defeat the British in a battle at Sullivan's Island during the Revolutionary War. The South Carolinians built a fort out of palmetto wood, and when the British fired cannonballs at the fort, instead of knocking the fort down, the soft palmetto wood just absorbed the cannonballs.

South Carolina was the 8th state in the USA; it became a state in 1788. Located in the southeastern US and is triangular in shape. It's bordered by North Carolina to the north, Atlantic Ocean on the southeast and Georgia on the southwest.

The coastal climate is humid subtropical and there are long hot humid summers and short mild winters. There is a lot of rainfall in the state and frequent hurricanes sweep through. In this area you can find many swamps, moss-hung oaks, beautiful flowering gardens, and the historic seaports that now are major ports of entry into the southeast. A broad costal plain covers the southern and eastern parts of South Carolina. There are sandy islands that are separated from the state by marshes and lagoons.

The western part of South Carolina is a plateau with rolling hills. Two thirds of the state is covered with forest and the states nickname is the Palmetto state, which is the state tree.

Many tourists come to South Carolina to visit and stay at the many resorts. The most popular being Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Resort. This makes tourism the most important industry after the production of textiles. They both are leading parts of the states economy.

Since South Carolina is on the coast, fishing is a very important industry. The main catches are blue crabs, oysters and shrimp. The economy also relies on its peaches, pecans and sweet potatoes which are grown throughout the state.

Economy:
Agriculture: Tobacco, poultry, cattle, dairy products, soybeans, hogs.
Industry: Textile goods, chemical products, paper products, machinery, tourism.

South Carolina has 46 counties:
ABBEVILLE AIKEN ALLENDALE ANDERSON BAMBERG BARNWELL BEAUFORT BERKELEY CALHOUN CHARLESTON CHEROKEE CHESTER CHESTERFIELD CLARENDON COLLETON DARLINGTON DILLON DORCHESTER EDGEFIELD FAIRFIELD FLORENCE GEORGETOWN GREENVILLE GREENWOOD HAMPTON HORRY JASPER KERSHAW LANCASTER LAURENS LEE LEXINGTON MARION MARLBORO MCCORMICK NEWBERRY OCONEE ORANGEBURG PICKENS RICHLAND SALUDA SPARTANBURG SUMTER UNION WILLIAMSBURG YORK