There's Something Incredible About These 10 Rivers In South Carolina
By Gwen Tennille|Published October 26, 2015
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Gwen Tennille
Author
Gwen is an author, artist, illustrator, graphic designer, mother, wife, and part-time super hero. She loves to tackle her dreams head on and takes life by storm. Coffee is her best friend and a good book cannot be beat! When does she have the time, you ask? Well...do you really need that much sleep?
Rivers hold special a special place in my heart and South Carolina rivers are extremely special. Have you ever heard the stories of the rivers here? My mom used to say that if you sat on the riverbanks and listened you’d be able to hear the tales of time. If you aren’t careful, she would go on to say, the voices would lull you to a complacent sleep and then take you with them.
I almost believed her and I’m still on the fence about it because I have sat by the rivers here and if you let them, they will take your stress away. You will start to not care what goes on outside of that place. It will become just you and that river sharing a moment in time that will forever stick with you and make you go back again and again for that peace.
And, to that end, I have for you 10 incredibly special rivers in South Carolina and their stories. Come sit a spell and listen to the babbling and the roars of the waters.
Edisto River, besides being a part of the ACE Basin, is one of the longest flowing blackwater rivers in North America. It meanders for more than 250 miles. Another interesting point is that the origin of this river starts underneath the ancient sand dunes known as the Sandhills.
This is where I'm going to put together the Edisto, Combahee, and Ashepoo. These 3 rivers come together and form the ACE Basin which is something pretty special in all of the United States. This is 350,000 acres of blackwater bottom-land in the Lowcountry that eventually drains into the St. Helena Sound. These three rivers and that land are home to loads of wildlife.
Chattooga marks the border between South Carolina and Georgia. This river is nothing if not wild. Sitting by here will definitely take away that stress you carry on your shoulders. For those of you who want a little known fact about this river, it was the same one used in the movie Deliverance.
The Reedy River has become an epicenter in Greenville. They have made it a haven for gatherings. There's something to be said for gathering at the river.
The Cooper River is a tidal river which means that it's level is influenced by the rise and fall of the tides. It has been used as a transportation river for as long as it has been the Cooper River and likely before it was even named. Incidentally, the river was named for Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and chief Lord Proprietor of the Carolina Colony.
The Wando is also a tidewater river that begins in Awendaw and empties into the Cooper River. It's used as a transportation river as you can see here, this beautiful tugboat is making its way down.
No, it's not spelled incorrectly and that is its correct name. Horsepasture is a National Wild and Scenic River in the United States and it's a river that North Carolina and South Carolina share. It's extremely photographic.
The Congaree river is short, but it's wide. It was named for the Congaree Indians who used to live in the area. It's part of the Congaree National Park which covers around 22,000 acres which holds the last remaining oldest growth bottom-land hardwoods in America. It's still very navigable even with large barges.
The Black River is a 151 mile long river that originates in Lee County not far from Bishopville. It's exactly what it's named for which is a blackwater river. Blackwater rivers are found in the Amazon and in the southern United States. It's due to them traveling through forests and swamps in which dead and decaying vegetation sink to the bottom and eventually stain the water to make it look like coffee or tea. There's nothing wrong with it. It's like food coloring basically.
After having lived in a city for the past 8 years or so, I’ve found that so many people rush through this life. I know that most of them have never known any other way. I, however, came from the Lowcountry where time was measured not by how fast you could run through it, but by the moments you stopped to enjoy it. Rivers were always a huge thing in my family as we not only gathered food from them, but we also gathered by them to enjoy cooling off in the summer and having picnics.
They definitely give a soothing to the soul especially when it’s fraught with so much. Take the time and sit a spell by one. Watch the grass grow and listen to them talk to you. I can promise you that those knots you hold in your shoulders will loosen up and you will forget why you’re so tense to begin with.
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