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Sandhills (Carolina)

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A hiking trail snakes through Weymouth Woods in the sandhills region of North Carolina.

The SandhillsorCarolina Sandhillsis a 10-35 mi widephysiographic regionwithin the U.S.Atlantic Coastal Plainprovince, along theupdip(inland) margin of this province in the states ofNorth Carolina,South Carolina,andGeorgia.The extent of the Carolina Sandhills is shown in maps of theecoregionsof North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.[1][2]

Geology[edit]

The unconsolidated sand of the Carolina Sandhills is mapped as theQuaternaryPinehurst Formation,and is interpreted as eolian (wind-blown) sand sheets and dunes that were mobilized episodically from approximately 75,000 to 6,000 years ago.[3]Most of the publishedluminescence agesfrom the sand are coincident with the lastglaciation,a time when the southeastern United States was characterized by colder air temperatures, stronger winds, and less vegetation.[4]

The Carolina Sandhills region also containsoutcropsofCretaceous-age (~100 million years old) strata of sand, sandstone, and clay that are interpreted as fluvial (river) deposits.[5][6]These Cretaceous strata are thought to be the source of the sand of the Pinehurst Formation. In South Carolina and North Carolina, these Cretaceous strata are mapped as the Middendorf Formation.[7]A notable hill of these Cretaceous strata isSugarloaf Mountainin the Sand Hills State Forest in Chesterfield County, South Carolina.

Soils[edit]

The soils of the Carolina Sandhills are very sandy. According to soil surveys of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, many soils of the Carolina Sandhills are mapped as the Alpin sand or Candor sand.[8]

Vegetation[edit]

The Carolina Sandhills region is characterized byxericsand community vegetation dominated bypinetrees,[9][10][11]which caused it to formerly be known as Carolina and Georgia'sPiney Woods.

Much of the Carolina Sandhills is known for an ecosystem oflongleaf pine(Pinus palustris) andwiregrass(Aristida stricta). This ecosystem is maintained by frequent low-intensity fires that facilitate the reproduction of the trees, wiregrass, and associated plants. This ecosystem once[when?]formed one of the more extensive ecosystems in North America, and longleaf pine was once the dominant tree that covered ~60% of theAtlantic Coastal PlainandGulf of Mexico Coastal Plain.Today, however, only about 1% of this region supports longleaf pine.[12][page needed]

Wildlife[edit]

More than 30 plant and animal species associated with the longleaf pine ecosystem are listed as threatened or endangered, and many of these species require interactions with the longleaf pine and with frequent low-intensity fires. The most famous endangered species of the Carolina Sandhills is probably thered-cockaded woodpecker(Picoides borealis), which prefers to excavate nesting and roosting cavities in living trees of longleaf pine that are 80–120 years old.[13]

Another rare species that can be found is thePine Barrens tree frog,which are tolerant of low pH levels and often lay eggs in shallow, acidic ponds. The species can only be found in the Carolina Sandhills, Southern Alabama/Florida panhandle and the closely related ecosystemNew Jersey Pine Barrens.Dryophytes andersoniiis also thestate amphibianof North Carolina.[14]

Human history[edit]

Sand Hills cottage architectureis a style that developed in this area in the early to mid-1800s; it is a modified form of Greek Revival architecture. The people of the 'Piney Woods' that once covered the Sandhills andInner Bankswere known as "Goobers" around the time of theCivil War.[15][16]

Preservation[edit]

TheCarolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refugein northeasternSouth Carolinaattempts to preserve a fraction of the original Sandhills longleaf pineecosystem.The refuge is located inChesterfield CountynearMcBee.

References[edit]

  1. ^Griffith, G.E., Omernik, J.M., Comstock, J.A., Schafale, M.P., McNab, W.H., Lenat, D.R., MacPherson, T.F., Glover, J.B., Shelburne, V.B., 2002. Ecoregions of North Carolina and South Carolina. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, 1:1,500,000 scale map, 1 sheet.
  2. ^Griffith, G.E., Omernik, J.M., Comstock, J.A., Lawrence, S., Martin, G., Goddard, A., Hulcher, V.J., Foster, T., 2001. Ecoregions of Alabama and Georgia. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, 1:1,700,000 scale map, 1 sheet.
  3. ^Swezey, C.S., Fitzwater, B.A., Whittecar, G.R., Mahan, S.A., Garrity, C.P., Aleman Gonzalez, W.B., and Dobbs, K.M., 2016, "The Carolina Sandhills: Quaternary eolian sand sheets and dunes along the updip margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, southeastern United States":Quaternary Research,v. 86, p. 271-286; cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research
  4. ^Swezey, C.S. (2020) "Quaternary eolian dunes and sand sheets in inland locations of the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province", in Inland Dunes of North America (N. Lancaster and P. Hesp, eds.), Springer Publishing, Switzerland, pp. 11-63. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-40498-7_2ISBN978-3-030-40498-7
  5. ^Swezey, C.S., Fitzwater, B.A., and Whittecar, G.R., 2023, Stratigraphic architecture and fluvial interpretations of the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian?) Middendorf Formation, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, U.S.A.: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 93, no. 6, p. 327-349.https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sepm/jsedres/article/93/6/327/624255/Stratigraphic-architecture-and-fluvial.
  6. ^Swezey, C.S., Fitzwater, B.A., and Whittecar, G.R., 2016, Geology and geomorphology of the Carolina Sandhills, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, in: Gold, Structures, and Landforms in Central South Carolina (W.R. Doar III, ed.), Geological Society of America Field Guide 42, p. 9-36.
  7. ^Swezey, C.S., Fitzwater, B.A., and Whittecar, G.R., 2016, Geology and geomorphology of the Carolina Sandhills, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, in: Gold, Structures, and Landforms in Central South Carolina (W.R. Doar III, ed.), Geological Society of America Field Guide 42, p. 9-36.
  8. ^Swezey, C.S., Fitzwater, B.A., Whittecar, G.R., Mahan, S.A., Garrity, C.P., Aleman Gonzalez, W.B., and Dobbs, K.M., 2016, The Carolina Sandhills: Quaternary eolian sand sheets and dunes along the updip margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, southeastern United States: Quaternary Research, v. 86, p. 271-286; cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research
  9. ^Christensen, N.L., 2000. "Vegetation of the southeastern Coastal Plain". In: Barbour, M.G., Billings, W.D. (Eds.),North American Terrestrial Vegetation,seconded. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 397-448.
  10. ^Earley, L.S., 2004.Looking for Longleaf: The Fall and Rise of an American Forest.The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 336p.
  11. ^Sorrie, B.A., 2011.A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia.University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  12. ^Earley, 2004.Looking for Longleaf
  13. ^Askins, A.H., 2010,Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan:U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service–Southeast Region, 234p.
  14. ^Horton, Emily."Pine Barren Tree Frog".NCpedia.Retrieved19 January2014.
  15. ^"goober,n.",Oxford English Dictionary,Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  16. ^Schele de Vere, Maximilian (1871),Americanisms,p. 57.

External links[edit]

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