South Carolina Map Activity
A printable South Carolina map worksheet: color the state, label Columbia and its major cities, and draw in the rivers and higher ground.
5 questions · Map activity · Application
South Carolina is one of the fifty states, and its capital is Columbia. This sheet prints the outline of the state large enough to work on, with a star already marking the capital, and a small map of the whole country in the corner so a student can see where South Carolina sits. The five tasks move from coloring the state in to placing its cities, rivers and mountains — the same order an atlas builds a map up in.
South Carolina
Capital: Columbia
South Carolina Map Activity
This is a map of South Carolina. Use the facts in the box and the star on the map to finish all five tasks.
Remember
- The capital of South Carolina is Columbia.
- Three of its largest cities are Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach.
- Rivers in South Carolina include Savannah River, Santee River and Pee Dee River.
- Its higher ground includes Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Mountains.
Your tasks
Work down the list in order. Everything is done on the big map below.
- 1.
Color the whole state of South Carolina lightly in one color, staying inside the outline.
- 2.
Find the star on the map. Write the name of the state capital on the line beside it.
- 3.
Mark and label these cities with a dot: Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach.
- 4.
Draw and label these rivers: Savannah River and Santee River.
- 5.
Shade where this higher ground is and label it: Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Mountains.
★ marks Columbia, the state capital. Write its name on the line.
Answer key
Your tasks
- 1.The whole outline is colored in, and the coloring stays inside the border.
- 2.Columbia - the capital of South Carolina. The star is printed where the city is.
- 3.Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach - each marked with a dot and labeled. Charleston is the largest of them.
- 4.Savannah River and Santee River - drawn as a wiggly line and labeled.
- 5.Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Mountains - shaded and labeled in roughly the right part of the state.
What this sheet teaches
- Find South Carolina on a map of the United States.
- Name and locate Columbia, the state capital.
- Locate Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach within the state.
- Draw the main rivers of South Carolina and say roughly where they run.
Notes for the adult
- Colored pencils are enough — nothing on the South Carolina sheet needs paint, and the outline is large enough that a fine tip is not required either.
- Task 2 is the one to check first: the star is printed exactly where Columbia is, so a child who writes another city has read the map rather than the fact box.
- Charleston and the Savannah River are placed by eye. Mark them on whether they are in the right part of South Carolina relative to Columbia, not on whether they land within a mile of the truth.
What is on the page
There are one part to South Carolina Map Activity, five exercises between them. Map work throughout — one kind of exercise, done five times, rather than a page that changes its demand halfway down.
Under "Your tasks" there are five tasks, all of them carried out on the printed outline of South Carolina rather than answered in writing.
South Carolina on this sheet
The star is printed on Columbia, close to the middle of the state, at roughly 34.0°N, 81.0°W. Of the 50 state capitals this site has a map sheet for, that makes it the 42nd furthest north and the 37th furthest west. The nearest other state capital is Raleigh, about 185 miles away in North Carolina — a useful thing to say out loud to a student who assumes every state is the size of their own.
The cities to mark are Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach. Three rivers go on next — Savannah River, Santee River and Pee Dee River — drawn in by hand rather than traced. Higher ground is shaded last: Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Mountains.
The outline of South Carolina is about 1.3 times as wide as it is tall, so the widest labels are the ones that need planning before the pencil goes down. It is drawn from the same vector data as the map on this page, so what prints on paper is what is on the screen, and a photocopy of it holds up. Positions are estimated by eye: mark Charleston on whether it is in the right part of South Carolina, not on whether it lands within a mile of the truth.
What it asks of the student
South Carolina Map Activity puts about 126 words of reading in front of the student — the fact box, the directions, every question, and every printed option. That is the number worth checking against a class before it goes out, because a sheet that is pitched right on the history and wrong on the reading fails for the same child either way. The longest single prompt on it runs to 18 words.
Nothing on South Carolina Map Activity is answered on ruled lines — every response goes onto the map itself, or on the short rule beside a task — so the whole of it fits on one side of paper and the full answer key runs to 78 words.
Where this one sits
South Carolina Map Activity is one of 61 US States & Capitals sheets on this site and one of 59 written for grade 4. 53 of them share its topic, the fifty states, which is worth knowing before printing two that overlap.
The closest things to it are New Jersey Map Activity (grade 4) and New Mexico Map Activity (grade 4). If South Carolina Map Activity lands well, those are the ones to reach for next; if it lands badly, the application sheets a grade either side are usually the adjustment rather than a different topic altogether.
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The Fifty States at other grades
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- Recognizing the Fifty US States Worksheet — Grade 3 · 12 questions, matching, fill in the blank, multiple choice · application work
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