This Saturday our Lowcountry Unfiltered group gathered for its monthly outing. We rendezvoused just southwest of Columbia to explore the Peachtree Rock Nature Preserve, managed by the Nature Conservancy and the South Carolina Department of Natural Services. Dr. John Nelson, botanist at USC, director of the state’s Herbarium, and member of our group would serve as our guide for the day.
In addition to John and myself, five others joined us. We gathered at the entrance to the preserve at about 9:00, and got some preliminary information from John. The area is one of the first set aside by the Nature Conservancy, and contains several unique habitat areas, including a long-leaf pine ecosystem. The geology is also unusual. A hard layer of rock called ironstone covers softer layers of sandstone. The sandstone has been eroding out from under the resistant upper layer, creating unique geological formations such as the namesake Peachtree Rock.