Spartanburg CountyFive Themes of GeographyVirtual Fieldtrip

byTravis Smith and Alex Hamilton

Table of ContentsTheme 1: Location

Absolute LocationRelative Location

Theme 2: PlacePhysical CharacteristicsHuman Characteristics

Theme 3: Human/Environment InteractionPeach FarmingTextile Mills

Theme 4: MovementMovement of PeopleMovement of Goods

Theme 5: RegionsFormal RegionFunctional Region

Conclusion

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Theme 1: LocationTwo types of Location

AbsoluteRelative

Absolute:Referring to an exact location in spaceThe latitude and longitude of a place

Relative:In relation to other places and where they are located.Rivers, bordering states, bordering counties, landforms

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Absolute LocationLatitude:

34.93163 North

Longitude:81.99075 West

The entire county goes from approx. 35.2 to 34.6 degrees north and 82.2 to 81.7 degrees west

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Tiger Map Server

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Relative Location

Relative to other states: East of GA, North of FL, SE of TN, South of VA

Relative to other counties: North of Newberry, Lexington, Saluda, west of Cherokee, York, Chester, east of Greenville

Relative to bodies of water: East Saluda and Reedy, west of Broad

Relative to landmarks: South of Chimney Rock, east of Table Rock

Source: discoversouthcarolina.com

Source: SCIway.net

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Theme 2: Place

Two types of place:Human Characteristics Physical Characteristics

Human Characteristics include:Bridges, buildings, language, modes of transportation, and religion

Physical Characteristics include:Landforms, climate, wildlife, bodies of water, and vegetation

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Physical CharacteristicsBird Mountain

Highest point in county1,480 feetLocated in NW portion of county

Humid, temperate climateAvg. daily temp. is 60 degrees F

Avg. rainfall: 50 inchesSecond in state for production of peaches and apples and fifth in hay harvestingTwo wetland sites:

Camp CroftPacolet River Heritage

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Human CharacteristicsBB&T Building:

Tallest building in Spartanburg CountyLocated in the heart of downtown Spartanburg

BMW Manufacturing PlantLocated in Greer1.2 million sq. foot buildingIn 2000 they doubled the size of the plant

$600 million projectBrought five new suppliers to area, in addition to 22 already there

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Theme 3: Human/Environment Interaction

Pertains to how the environment and people effect each otherPeople depend on the environment

Ex: It dictates what type of crops we grow People modify the environment

Ex: Clearing land and planting crops on itPeople adapt to the environment

Ex: Wearing a certain type of clothing according to the season

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Peach FarmingBecame a commercial crop in 1920’s1940: Three million peach trees in Spartanburg countyAt one time second largest peach producing county in U.S.1950: 800 commercial peach farms, Present: few in the countyLimited future due to:

Development, rising land prices, bad weather, stiff competition

Many peach farms are now covered with manufacturing plants (BMW, Michelin)Middle of state now pre-dominant peach growing area

Edgefield County

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Textile MillsApprox. 47 total mills in county at one timeThe county’s dominant employer in 1949, 20,000 workersTextile jobs peaked in 1973: 21,742 jobs1970’s held steady with 19,500 jobs, 5,000 and 6,000 jobs disappeared in the 80’s and 90’s respectivelySix out of every seven apparel jobs disappeared b/w 1971 and 2002

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Theme 4: Movement

Three different types of movement:PeopleGoodsIdeas

People interact and depend on these things daily

They do not come directly from their immediate environment

Transportation is essential to the movement of people

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Movement of PeopleSince 1960 every 10-year census has seen 23,300 increaseLargest growth and movement has taken place in western, southern, and center portions of countyGrowth also along I-85 corridorPopulation of county, 1960: 156,830,1995: 240,329Population in year 2000: 253,791 Source: Spartanburg County Internet Map

Server

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Movement of GoodsThe county is served by CSTX, Norfolk Southern, and Amtrak

CSTX operates more track mileage than any other railroad company in the stateAmtrak – 5,700-6,700 passengers get on/off in Spartanburg

I-85/I-26 essential to the movement of goods

Over 50,000 vehicles travel from I-85 to I-26 daily

Greenville/Spartanburg Int’l AirportOpened in 1962Four cargo airlines1964: 1,432 tons of cargo2004: 23,995 tons of cargo

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Theme 5: RegionsThree types of regions

Formal: share one or more unifying characteristics

Functional: based and organized around a node or focal point

Perceptual: based on people’s feeling and beliefsVernacular: perceptual region identified by people inside the region/county, not outsiders

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Theme 5: RegionsFormal Region in Spartanburg County:The Central Business District:

The core: Daniel Morgan SquareCity Gov’t has tried to make CBD more attractive with specialty retailers and fine dining areasFlanking outward from the core you have heavy retail business in suburban areas of county

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Theme 5: RegionsFunctional Region in Spartanburg County:Greenville/Spartanburg Int’l AirportSeven passenger airline companies and their major hubs (nodes/focal points):

U.S. Airways: Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington NationalUnited: Chicago (O’Hare)Northwest: Detroit, Minneapolis-St. PaulIndependence: Washington (Dulles), OrlandoDelta: Cincinnati, AtlantaAmerican Eagle: Chicago, DallasContinental: Newark, Houston, Cleveland Source: http://www.flyi.com/ (Independence Air)

ConclusionLatitude: 34.93 degrees North; 81.99 degrees WestCounty is located in northern most part of the stateBird Mountain: highest pointOnce dominated by textile mills and peach farming but has been replaced by manufacturingI-85, I-26 essential to all movement in countyMost growth along I-85 corridorHas the highest per capita of foreign investment in U.S.Formal Region: Central Business DistrictFunctional Region: GSP (part of a larger region)

ReferencesAir Cargo. GSP International Airport. 2004. 7 April 2005. http://www.gspairport.com/cargo.html

“BMW Investing $600 Million to Expand in SC And Build E53 SUV”. Ward’s Auto World. 1 June 1998. 28 March 2005. http://waw.wardsauto.com/ar/auto_bmw_investing_million/

Corbin, Mike. Family Trees: The Peach Culture of the Piedmont. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Hub City Writers Project. November 1998. 16 March 2005.

“Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport Comprehensive Airline Schedule”. GSP Flight Schedule. GSP International Airport. 2004. 28 March 2005. http://www.gspairport.com/FSdepartures.shtml

“History”. South Carolina Reference Room – Spartanburg County. South Carolina State Library. 23 February 2005. 27 March 2005. http://www.state.sc.us/scsl/spar.html

“Independence Air Route Map, Spring 2005”. Destinations. Impendence Air. 2005. 4 April 2005. http://www.flyi.com/tools/destinations/default.aspx

“Spartanburg Area, The”. Newcomer.com. 23 March 2005. http://www.newcomer.com/cities/greenville/GRVspartanburg.html

Spartanburg County Comprehensive Plan. Spartanburg County Government. Part 1-Part VII. 5 March 2005. http://www.co.spartanburg.sc.us/govt/depts/pln/compplan/TOC.htm

“Spartanburg County, South Carolina”. South Carolina Quick Facts. U.S. Census Bureau. 1 February 2005. 24 March 2005. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/45/45083.html

South Carolina-Detailed County Maps. SCIway. 2004. 10 March 2005. http://sciway.net/maps/cnty/

“Statistics and facts about the segment of I-85 in Spartanburg County”. I-85 in Spartanburg County. 28 March 2005. http://www.geocities.com/thenativesarerestless/i85spartco.htm

Table Rock State Park. Discover South Carolina. 2005. 15 March 2005. http://discoversouthcarolina.com/stateparks/parkdetail.asp?PID=350

Teter Wakefield, Betsy. Textile Town Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Hub City Writers Project. November 2002. 15 March 2005.

Tiger Map Server Browser. U.S. Census Bureau. 27 March 2005. http://tiger.census.gov/cgi-bin/mapsurfer?infact=2&outfact=2&act=move&tlevel=-&tvar=-&tmeth=i&mlat=&mlon=&msym=bigdot&mlabel=&murl=&lat=34.93163&lon=-81.99075&wid=0.360&ht=0.130&conf=mapnew.con

“Total Air Cargo”. GSP Cargo Statistics. GSP International Airport. 2004. 7 April 2005. http://www.gspairport.com/cargo_stats.shtml

“U.S. Gazetteer”. U.S. Census Bureau. 9 March 2005. http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer?city=spartanburg&state=SC&zip=