A hiking trail snakes through Weymouth Woods in the sandhills region of North Carolina.

The Sandhills is a region in the interior of the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. It is a strip of ancient beach dunes which generally divides the Piedmont from the coastal plain, and is the evidence of a former coastline when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching The Atlantic Coastal Plain is the flat stretch of land that borders the Atlantic Ocean (including the Gulf of Mexico) The beach deposits were formed principally during the Miocene Epoch, circa 20 million years before the present. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 Typical beach fossils are found along the front edges. The coastal plain is terraced from other ocean levels, but none appear to have been so long-lasting, so as to build up dunes of this size.

Hydrology

The Sandhills are an important groundwater recharge area for coastal aquifers in the Carolinas. Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic Process where Water moves downward from Surface water An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay It takes several hundred years for water to move underground from the Sandhills to the South Carolina coast. South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America.

Vegetation

Because they are predominantly porous, sandy soils, the area tends to be droughty and irrigation is required for agriculture. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Some areas are noted for peach production, primarily because peaches need a well drained soil. The peach ( Prunus persica) is a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach

Prior to agricultural use, most of the Sandhills were forested with longleaf pine, loblolly pine, turkey oak, and blackjack oak. The 'Longleaf Pine' ( Pinus palustris) is a Pine native to the southeast United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Pinus taeda ( Loblolly Pine) is one of several Pines native to the southeastern United States. The American Turkey Oak ( Quercus laevis) is a member of the red oak group of Oaks It is native to the southeastern United States Quercus marilandica ( Blackjack oak) is a small Oak, one of the red oak group Quercus sect In areas of extreme drainage, the forests are visibly scrubby. Oaks increase under conditions of fire exclusion, whereas longleaf pine will dominate under a regime of frequent fires. Understory vegetation is of plants that are well adapted to droughty conditions, as well as the frequent lightning-induced fires typical of the region. Wiregrass (Aristida sp. ) is frequently extensive in the understory. Carnivorous plants, especially pitcher plants, often occur in the herb layer. Sarracenia (sæɹəsɛniːɑː/ or /sæɹəsiːniːɑː is a Genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American Pitcher plants

Wildlife

Notable vertebrate species of the Carolina Sandhills include Gopher Tortoise, Florida Pine snake, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow, and Pine Barrens Tree Frog. The Gopher Tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus) is a Tortoise Species native to the Coastal plains of the United States. About the size of the Northern Cardinal, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker ( Picoides borealis) is approximately 8 Bachman's Sparrow, Aimophila aestivalis, is a small sparrow. Adults have rufous brown upperparts and crown with grey and black streaking on the nape back and Hyla andersonii (Common name Pine Barrens tree frog) is a species of New World tree frog Many Sandhills species are of threatened or endangered. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation

Socioeconomic region in North Carolina

The Sandhills region of North Carolina, in socioeconomic terms, most notably refers to the area in and surrounding the municipalities of Southern Pines, Pinehurst, and Aberdeen (i. Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. Aberdeen is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. e. Moore County). Moore County is a County located in the US state of North Carolina. The area is famous for its golf courses and history in the sport of golf. A golf course consists of a series of holes each consisting of a Teeing ground, Fairway, rough and other hazards and a green with a pin and cup all designed for The city of Fayetteville is sometimes considered part of the Sandhills, but it is isolated from the heart of the region by Fort Bragg Military Reservation. Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina.

References and external links

• Aspects of NC Climate--Carolina Sandhills--accessed 19 March 2007
• Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge--accessed 19 March 2007
• Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge (Brochure)--accessed 19 March 2007
• Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge--fire management--accessed 19 March 2007
• Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge--flora and fauna--accessed 19 March 2007
• South Carolina Naturally--accessed 19 March 2007
• Sandhills--Nature Conservancy--accessed 19 March 2007
• Sandhills Fact Sheet--Savannah River Ecology Laboratory--accessed 19 March 2007
• South Carolina Department of Environmental Resources--Sandhills Ecoregion Terrestrial Habitat--accessed 19 March 2007