“O” is for Orangeburg Scarp

“O” is for Orangeburg Scarp. The Orangeburg Scarp is a wave-cut, steep incline that forms the boundary between the upper and middle coastal plains. This escarpment cuts diagonally across South Carolina, passing near or through parts of Bennettsville, Hartsville, Sumter, Columbia, Orangeburg, and Allendale. As the scarp traverses the state, it reaches heights ranging from 180 to 215 feet above sea level. As Earth’s climate changed over time, and as the process of plate tectonics produced more or less lava on Earth’s surface, sea levels rose and fell repeatedly over millions of years. This resulted in worldwide sea level changes, the evidences of which are the escarpments visible along the edges of continents. The Orangeburg Scarp represents the limit of the ocean during the middle Pliocene epoch and can be seen in many places across South Carolina.