[...]... industrialists from the North and Midwest bought vast tracts of land and even some of the barrier islands along the coastal plain to use as private hunting and fishing retreats Following World War I, yet another kind of industry came to the region – tourism The Georgia & Carolina Coasts Today Today, the entire area is one long chain of tourist attractions: historic sites, towns and cities, old forts,... Carolina to Cumberland Island off southern Georgia make interesting reading, but the riches remain undiscovered n Fall & Rise of the South By the outbreak of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, the islands and coastal plain were dominated by great cotton and rice plantations, the product of grand dreams and slavery The Union blockade of the Confederate coastline was one of the. .. to New Bern on the edge of the Croatan National Forest, and then hugs the shoreline through Wilmington and Myrtle Beach all the way into Charleston It breaks westward, skirting St Helena and Port Royal sounds, and then turns southeast again into Savannah From there it parallels I-95 all the way to Florida and beyond Airports Key airports serving the area are Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina; Charleston... ports: tobacco, sea island cotton, hemp, rice and indigo The new prosperity brought more settlers from England and the colony continued to grow But the rich cargoes going from the New World to Europe were attractive to adventurers of a different kind Throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, pirates, corsairs, brigands, ne’r-do-wells and privateers, all drawn by the promise of easy pickings and quick... investors – often kings and queens The privateers usually raped, pillaged and plundered in the name of whichever sovereign happened to be on the throne at the time While most made their dubious livings on the high seas, when the action was slow they came ashore to pillage coastal communities too weak to defend themselves Sir Francis Drake laid waste to St Augustine as early as 1586 18 n The Georgia & Carolina. .. the borders of the new colony outward, first to Cape Fear, North Carolina, where they established the plantations that would supply provisions to the British Navy, and then into Georgia where they built a fort at Darien n Pillaging in the New World Britain’s colonies in the New World, after the first disastrous years at Jamestown, were successful and profitable Great houses and planta- The Demise of... ridges and on the east by the barrier islands and the Atlantic Ocean, the Low Country extends from Georgetown South Carolina to St Marys, Georgia For more than 200 years, the diversity of flora and fauna found in this region has attracted naturalists, among them such notables as John James Audubon, William Bartram, Mark Catesby and Alexander Wilson The Low Country is a flatland of salt marshes, meandering... In the summertime, magnolias blossom, Spanish moss thickens, the oaks take on new vitality, and the resurrection fern seems reborn with each rain There’s always action here: alligators trying to avoid the heat of the noonday sun dig deep swampy dens; the deer in the woodlands graze the afternoon hours away; in the evening, the loggerhead turtles struggle up the beach from the depths of the ocean to. .. lay their eggs, then, worn out from their exertions, struggle back through the sand to the deep waters of the Atlantic Climate The tri-state region falls into two distinct climatic zones North Carolina is in the temperate zone, while South Carolina and Georgia are decidedly subtropical This means you can count on good weather along the coast virtually year- round The winters can be very cold on the. .. Contents On Water Cruises & Tours The Story of Fort Sumter Seeing Fort Sumter Today Diving Sailing Ship Tours Speedboat Tours Fishing In the Air Eco/Cultural Adventures Spoleto Festival USA Spas & Fitness Centers Where to Stay Camping Mount Pleasant Where to Eat Visitor Information Charleston’s Barrier Islands Kiawah Island History Kiawah Island Today Getting Here & Getting Around Adventures On Foot Beaches . Country Bordered on the west by sandhill ridges and on the east by the barrier islands and the Atlantic Ocean, the Low Country extends from Georgetown South Carolina to St. Marys, Georgia. For more. from the depths of the ocean to lay their eggs, then, worn out from their exertions, struggle back through the sand to the deep wa - ters of the Atlantic. Climate The tri-state region falls into. 4 Safety 5 History 16 The Georgia & Carolina Coasts Today 18 How To Use This Book 19 Adventures 21 GEORGIA 39 Savannah & Tybee Island 39 History of Savannah 39 Savannah Today 40 Climate