![]() Located 50 miles southeast of Charleston on SC 174, Edisto Island is a historic beachfront community that features stately old plantation homes, beach houses atop stilts and ancient oak forests. The subject of Pat Conroy’s, The Water Is Wide, Daufuskie Island has a timeless quality and is still accessible only by boat. Most native residents of Daufuskie Island are descendants of freed slaves, who have made their living oystering and fishing for decades. A Sea Island Guide: Daufuskie Island, South Carolina:ĭaufuskie offers a glimpse of what other sea islands were like before bridges and causeways opened them to development. The magic of the sea islands, it seems, lies in the rich diversity of each ever-changing land mass, surrounded on all sides by the singing sea. Nevertheless, each sea island tells a unique story of colonial, revolutionary and Civil War history and of the complex relationship between civilization and wilderness. Marines to halt the erosion by moving massive sand dunes in the path of the sea appear to be in vain. Its lush palm and oak forests are being consumed by the ever-encroaching waves and even the best efforts of the U.S. One of South Carolina’s loveliest state parks, Hunting Island, is quite literally, being reclaimed by the sea. Hunting Island, SC, for example, has been fighting the sea for several centuries now. Islands change shape as the wind, sun and sea conspire to redefine them over hundreds and thousands of years. Its barrier islands are home to fresh and brackish waters that host migratory birds and provide a rich habitat for fish, shrimp and oysters.Īlthough the pristine beaches that ring the sea islands seem to be forgotten by time, they are, in fact, undergoing constant changes over time. The Peach State boasts more barrier islands than any other state. Georgia has more than five million acres of wetlands, 90 percent of which are located in the coastal region. South Carolina’s neighbor to the south, Georgia boasts an equally historic and hypnotic coastline.Īlthough the coastline measures a mere 120 miles, more than 800 miles of shoreline wind along the state’s coast, creating a rich coastal plain that swells daily with the tides. It was widely recognized as the finest American cotton. Sea Island cotton, in particular, commanded extremely high prices on the market. These plantations lead to much of the islands’ antebellum wealth. Sixteen barrier islands guard the Carolina shore like sentinels of old, protecting the mainland from hurricanes and sever storms.īefore the Civil War, many of the Carolina sea islands featured enormous rice and cotton plantations. With 198 miles exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and more than 500,000 acres of coastal marshes, South Carolina is a liquid paradise with deep ties to the sea. ![]() This created modern-day sounds and left patches of higher ground exposed as a chain of offshore barrier islands. This flooded low lying areas along the Southeast coast. Polar caps began to melt and sea levels around the globe slowly rose. In fact, most of the coastal sea islands were formed during the Ice Age. Thousands of years ago, the sea islands were part of the mainland. The remarkable diversity among the Carolina and Georgia sea islands helps to create a unique geographic and cultural environment in the waters of the Atlantic. Some are developed, with internationally-acclaimed resorts and luxurious amenities others remain desolate, with seabirds nesting among stands of native cypress, tupelo and oak trees. Each sea island has a distinctive personality and seems to be dusted with a special magic. The Atlantic Ocean not only defines each of the sea islands, it unites them in an eternal symphony, creating a rarified music where the waves meet the shore. The sea islands that extend along the Eastern coast of South Carolina and Georgia have a history and a style all their own.įrom the sandy beaches of Edisto Island, SC to the isolated beauty of Cumberland Island, GA, the South Atlantic coast boasts a variety of sea islands that appeal to the dreamer in each of us.
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