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NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, South Carolina

Geodiversity refers to the full variety of natural geologic (rocks, minerals, sediments, fossils, landforms, and physical processes) and soil resources and processes that occur in the park. A product of the Geologic Resources Inventory, the NPS Geodiversity Atlas delivers information in support of education, Geoconservation, and integrated management of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of the ecosystem.

boardwalk trail
A boardwalk trail leads to a tidal marsh.

Introduction

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, located outside Charleston in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, is a 28-acre remnant of Charles Pinckney’s original 18th-century 715- acre plantation known as Snee Farm. Purchased by his father Colonel Charles Pinckney in 1754 (three years before the younger Pinckney’s birth), Pinckney spent his childhood splitting time between the Snee Farm “country home” and the family’s downtown Charleston residence. Pinckney inherited Snee Farm in 1782 and continued to grow rice and indigo at the plantation using an enslaved workforce.

Congress established Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in 1988. Although the original Pinckney house and outbuildings of Snee Farm no longer stand, the existing 1828 farmhouse that remains today and the surviving outbuildings tell the story of agrarian patterns of South Carolina’s Lowcountry from the mid-17th to the late-20th century.

Regional Geology

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site is a part of the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province and shares its geologic history and some characteristic geologic formations with a region that extends well beyond park boundaries.

Maps and Reports

The Geologic Resources Inventory produces digital geologic maps and reports for more than 270 natural resource parks. The products listed below are currently available for this park, check back often for updates as many maps, reports, and posters are still in progress.
  • Scoping summaries are records of scoping meetings where NPS staff and local geologists determined the park’s geologic mapping plan and what content should be included in the report.
  • Digital geologic maps include files for viewing in GIS software, a guide to using the data, and a document with ancillary map information. Newer products also include data viewable in Google Earth and online map services.
  • Reports use the maps to discuss the park’s setting and significance, notable geologic features and processes, geologic resource management issues, and geologic history.
  • Posters are a static view of the GIS data in PDF format. Newer posters include aerial imagery or shaded relief and other park information. They are also included with the reports.
  • Projects list basic information about the program and all products available for a park.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3391. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

A NPS Soil Resources Inventory project has been completed for Charles Pinckney National Historic Site and can be found on the NPS Data Store.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3392. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

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Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

National Park Service Geodiversity Atlas

The servicewide Geodiversity Atlas provides information on geoheritage and geodiversity resources and values within the National Park System. This information supports science-based geoconservation and interpretation in the NPS, as well as STEM education in schools, museums, and field camps. The NPS Geologic Resources Division and many parks work with National and International geoconservation communities to ensure that NPS abiotic resources are managed using the highest standards and best practices available.

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Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

Last updated: June 14, 2024