SANDHILLS SUMMARY
This thread of the web of water strings together friends and family as we pass through the Sandhills and fall line. The heavy paddle through the undeveloped stretch of the Saluda below lake Greenwood widens and joins with other tributaries at the mouth of Lake Murray and I find an familiar sign on a spectacular pennisula that says: “Welome! Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints” Hodge Harmon. The ground crew meets me there and we are treated to a fire side conversation by Mr. Harmon himself. A tough paddle through Lake Murray without the flow of the river to help brings us past tiny islands teaming with wildlife and finaly to Dreher Island State park where we find out a bass tournament is in progress. The next day includes an interview with Chief Louie Chavis from the Beaver Creek tribe and and evening with friends and family including my wife and daughter and my oldest brother who just was called up to serve in Iraq and coincidently happened to be training in the area at the same time we were passing through. Sounds of acoustic guitar, saxophone, indian flutes and song filled the night as we shared a campfire jam session. The next day we learned a great deal from Karen Kustafik about the canals, fish ladder, power plants, exotic and native plants, drinking water, and Columbias Riverfront Park. We were even treated to a geology lesson from a chance meeting with David Shelly, education coordinator from Congaree National Park followed by another evening with friends in South Carolinas Capital city. The next day we are at Saluda Shoals state park where the entire 3rd grade class of Nursery roads middleschool by way of the LEEP biodiesel bus to meet near the river’s edge and learn about plants from the rangers and about our experiences on the web of water from me. The event is summarized the next day in The State newspaper. The web of water is strung together here through government and other it is the place where it all happens.CHARACTER OF THE RIVER A series of dramatic tranisitions both natural and man-made create a series of unique habitats through the relatively short region of the Sandhills and Fall line of South Carolina. Water seeps quickly through the large sand deposits leaving a dry climate above and interesting bogs below. The river widens into Lake Murray creating flat and wide expanse aquatic area for recreation, high priced real estate, secluded islands, and expanses of undeveloped wooded areas such as Dreher Island State Park. Then it pushes through the granite shoals below the dam and rushes as white water rapids over the fall line to join with the Broad river and form the Congaree. Much of the character of the river is controlled by the dam releases and canals built along the edge of the river where the water is used for drinking, cleaning, travel, and hydro-electric power. The rocky shoals, confluence, and geography of the river played a major roll in the development of city of Columbia that now makes the laws for the state.

QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Earth Science
Why is there a fall line in the middle of the state?
How did the deposits of sand build up in the Sand hills?
What is a trilobite? What can the fossils tell us about earths biological history?
Life Science
Explain the difference between an exotic and native plant? How do they affect one another?
The fish ladder was built to help fish migrate up the river. What is migration?
The rocky Shoals Spider is an endangered plant. What does it mean to be endangered?The climate can be dry in many parts of the Sand hills. What kind of adaptation do Prickly pear cactus and other succulents have that help them to survive in this environment?Social Studies
Who were the Catawba?
Who was Robert Mills and what did he have to do with the canals in Columbia?
What roll did the river play in the development of the city of Columbia?
Why was the town of Columbia made into the Capital of South Carolina?
EARTH SCIENCE(Answers)
The Sandhills that stretch across North and South Carolina and Georgia are often thought to be formed by the ocean before it receded across the state but are most likely from deposits from the eroding Piedmont and mountains brought down the water web and deposited at the foot of the shelf.

Igneous and metamorphic rock ends here at the Sand hills and the faster erosion of the sedimentary rock of the plains cause the Fall line to appear.
A trilobite is a prehistoric marine invertebrate. The fossils show that the land was once underwater.

Sandhills-Sandstone, Sand Hill Deposits, Erosions, Clay, Granite, Fall Zone, Trilobites, Transition

LIFE SCIENCE
(Answers)
Exotic plants are foriegn plants introduced accidently or on purpose that sometimes compete for habitat and resources and often choke out native plants that have grown in a region naturaly.
Migration-
Endangered means a certain species may be on the verge of extinction and gone forever.
Succulants have an ability to store water until it is needed.
Flora-longleaf pine, reindeer moss, British soldier, turkey oaks, hucklebberries, blueberries, rosemary, and sparkleberry, sandwort, prickly pear cactus, ipecac, white cedar, sundews, loblolly bay, red bay, yellow pitcher plant, Endangered-Rocky Shoals Spider Lily
Fauna-pinebarren tree frog, cottontail, hognose and pine snake, red-cockaded woodpecker, beaver, Shad, Bass, osprey, yellow bellied slider, box turtle, Carolina Anole
SOCIAL STUDIES(Answers)
The Catawba were a native american tribe that lived near the Piedmont and sandhills region.
Robert Mills was a famous architect who helped to design the canal system.
The rocky shoals near the confluence of the Broad and Saluda made travel difficult to pass and helped to be a mid state meeting site for transitioning goods from the coast to mountains. The river was used to power the textile industry, generate power, provide drinking water, and transport goods around the state amongst other things.
The capital of South Carolina was moved to Columbia becuase it was centraly located and easier to travel to from other parts of the state in order to give a better overall representation of the population.Catawba
Textile Industry

Quaries
Government
Robert Mills
Canal

ACKNOLEDGEMENTS
Karen Kustafik
Chief Louie Chavis
Governer Sanfords office-Shermika
Ed Falco
Saluda Shoals-Jennette Wells, Jay, Shannon
Nursery Roads Elementary School
The State Newspaper
Dreher Island State Park
Bill- Adventure Carolina