There is a submerged river delta off the mouth of the harbor, and the Cooper River is deep.Ĭharleston has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa), with mild winters, hot humid summers, and significant rainfall all year long. The tidal rivers ( Wando, Cooper, Stono, and Ashley) are evidence of a submergent or drowned coastline. The entrance itself is about 1 mi (2 km) wide it was originally only 18 ft (5 m) deep but began to be enlarged in the 1870s. Sullivan's Island lies to the north of the entrance and Morris Island to the south. North Charleston blocks any expansion up the peninsula, and Mount Pleasant occupies the land directly east of the Cooper River.Ĭharleston Harbor runs about 7 mi (11 km) southeast to the Atlantic with an average width of about 2 mi (3.2 km), surrounded on all sides except its entrance. The city limits also have expanded across the Cooper River, encompassing Daniel Island and the Cainhoy area. The incorporated city fitted into 4–5 sq mi (10–13 km 2) as late as the First World War, but has since greatly expanded, crossing the Ashley River and encompassing James Island and some of Johns Island. Map showing the major rivers of Charleston and the Charleston Harbor watershed

15.2 Art, architecture, city planning, literature, science.

4.4 Museums, historical sites, and other attractions.

2.6.1 Condemnation of role in the slave trade.

In 2018, the city formally apologized for its role in the American Slave trade after CNN noted that slavery 'riddles the history' of Charleston. Charleston slave traders like Joseph Wragg were the first to break through the monopoly of the Royal African Company and pioneered the large-scale slave trade of the 18th century almost one half of slaves imported to the United States arrived in Charleston. Ĭharleston's significance in American history is tied to its role as a major slave trading port. Population growth in the interior of South Carolina influenced the removal of the state government to Columbia in 1788, but Charleston remained among the ten largest cities in the United States through the 1840 census. Charleston adopted its present spelling with its incorporation as a city in 1783. Election districts were organized according to Anglican parishes, and some social services were managed by Anglican wardens and vestries. It remained unincorporated throughout the colonial period its government was handled directly by a colonial legislature and a governor sent by Parliament. The 2020 population of the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties, was 799,636 residents, the third-largest in the state and the 74th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States.Ĭharleston was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II, at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River (now Charles Towne Landing) but relocated in 1680 to its present site, which became the fifth-largest city in North America within ten years.

Charleston had a population of 150,277 as of the 2020 U.S.

The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley, Cooper, and Wando rivers. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The downtown Charleston waterfront on The BatteryĬharleston is the largest city in the U.S.

Charleston port map