Manual of American Geography; Designed to Accompany Morse and Gaston's New Map of Our Country, Present and Prospective (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1856 Excerpt: ...annually. Turpentine distilleries and saw-mills are numerous. Newbern, on Neuse River, has considerable trade, and was formerly the capital of the State. Fayetteville is at the head of natural navigation, on Cape Fear River, 95 m. above Wilmington. It is now a flourishing town, and its prospects are excellent. Its vicinity is noted for numerous plank-roads. SOUTH CAROLINA. South Carolina has an irregular triangular shape, with extreme length and breadth of about 210 m., and total area of 29,395 sq. m. Its entire territory is a portion of the great Atlantic Slope, its northwest boundary being formed by the Blue Ridge. The surface is hence naturally divided into parallel sections, according to their elevation as parts of the slope. These divisions are principally three. The tract bordering the ocean is very low, occupied in part by flat cypress swamps and reedy marshes, traversed by sluggish streams, and to a great extent covered with forests of pitch-pine. The western part of this tract, as it becomes more elevated, is of course more dry, but the soil is still nearly level, and consists mainly of the sandy pine barren?. In the second, middle, or " wave" region, the surface is extremely undulating, gracefully swelling and dipping in bluffs and dells, yet mostly occupied by pine wood; the soil is a mellow, brown loam, and fertile in the valleys. This section terminates abruptly in joining the third section, called the Ridge; the surface suddenly rises, and continues to rise, with diversified character, until it end3 with the Blue Ridge. In this ridge there are several lofty peaks, of which the highest is Table Mountain, which is 4,000 ft. above the sea, and presents in one direction a perpendicular front of 1,100 ft. above the surrounding country. Th...