Sandhills (Carolina)
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The Sandhills is a region in the interior of the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is a strip of ancient beach dunes which generally divides the Piedmont from the coastal plain, and is the evidence of a former coastline when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower. The beach deposits were formed principally during the Miocene Epoch, circa 20 million years before the present. Typical beach fossils are found along the front edges. The coastal plain is terraced from other ocean levels, but none appear to have been so long-lasting, so as to build up dunes of this size.
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[edit] Hydrology
The Sandhills are an important recharge area for coastal aquifers in the Carolinas. It takes several hundred years for water to move underground from the Sandhills to the South Carolina coast.
[edit] Vegetation
Because they are predominantly porous, sandy soils, the area tends to be droughty and irrigation is required for agriculture. Some areas are noted for peach production, primarily because peaches need a well drained soil.
Prior to agricultural use, most of the Sandhills were forested with longleaf pine, loblolly pine, turkey oak, and blackjack oak. In areas of extreme drainage, the forests are visibly scrubby. Oaks increase under conditions of fire exclusion, whereas longleaf pine will dominate under a regime of frequent fires. Understory vegetation is of plants that are well adapted to droughty conditions, as well as the frequent lightning-induced fires typical of the region. Wiregrass (Aristida sp.) is frequently extensive in the understory. Carnivorous plants, especially pitcher plants, often occur in the herb layer.
[edit] Wildlife
Notable vertebrate species of the Carolina Sandhills include Gopher Tortoise, Pine snake, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow, and Pine Barrens Tree Frog. Many Sandhills species are of threatened or endangered.
[edit] References and external links
- Aspects of NC Climate--Carolina Sandhills--accessed 19 March 2007
- Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge--accessed 19 March 2007
- Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge (Brochure)--accessed 19 March 2007
- Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge--fire management--accessed 19 March 2007
- Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge--flora and fauna--accessed 19 March 2007
- South Carolina Naturally--accessed 19 March 2007
- Sandhills--Nature Conservancy--accessed 19 March 2007
- Sandhills Fact Sheet--Savannah River Ecology Laboratory--accessed 19 March 2007
- South Carolina Department of Environmental Resources--Sandhills Ecoregion Terrestrial Habitat--accessed 19 March 2007
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