Up with U.S. Geography: South Carolina

State Name:

South Carolina

Capital:

Columbia

Date of Entry:

May 23, 1788

Maps:

Map of USA. South Carolina outlined in dark ink & shaded.

A close-up of South Carolina & its neighbors.

Neighbors:

North Carolina, Georgia

Water Borders:

Savannah River, Atlantic Ocean

Total Area:

32,020 square miles

Five Largest Cities:

Columbia, Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Rock Hill

Famous Geographical Point:

Lake Marion

State Nickname:

The Palmetto State. It's named for its state tree, the Sabal palmetto.

Famous Person:

Lilian Ellison, better known by her professional wrestling name, The Fabulous Moolah.**

Book Set In/About:

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

In 1960s South Carolina, a young white girl who's lost her mother is taken in by a group of strong black women. I chose this book because I've read it & love it.

Movie Set In/About:

"Glory" (1989), directed by Edward Zwick

Based on the true story of one of the first all-black units of the Union Army (the officers were white) during the U.S. Civil War. Bonus story: In high school, I took AP U.S. History and our teacher, a crusty old guy I absolutely adored, showed us this movie. In the opening scene, there's a rather gruesome death, to which all of the students in the room expressed verbal disgust. I'll always remember my teacher, sitting in the back of the room, munching on an apple and chuckling at our reaction.

Headline of the Day:

"Skydiver Falls 14,000 Feet to Death in South Carolina" on Fox News. :(

**I grew up watching wrestling during the Hulk Hogan era. My husband, who's six years younger than me, was into it in his late teens/early 20s, during the height of The Rock's popularity. (In fact, my husband nearly became a professional wrestler. As the story goes, he planned to visit the Navy recruitment center and the Portland wrestling college on the same day. He went to the recruitment center first and ended up in the Navy for 6 years. Lol.) Lately, we've been watching some of these old shows before we go to sleep at night and I've been impressed by The Fabulous Moolah, in her 70s during the stuff we've been watching, who's turned up to a few matches and pulled some moves. While the matches are certainly fake, these peoples' impressive athleticism definitely is not.