Myrtle Beach
—  City  —
City of Myrtle Beach
Oceanfront view alongside Ocean Boulevard
Flag of Myrtle Beach Flag Official seal of Myrtle Beach Seal
Location of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina
Myrtle Beach Location in the United States
Coordinates: 33°43′N 78°53′W / 33.717°N 78.883°W / 33.717; -78.883Coordinates: 33°43′N 78°53′W / 33.717°N 78.883°W / 33.717; -78.883
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Horry
Government
• Mayor	John Rhodes (R)
Area
• City	16.8 sq mi (43.5 km2)
• Land	16.8 sq mi (43.5 km2)
• Water	12,359,674 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	26 ft (8 m)
Population (2010)
• City	27,109
• Density	1,356/sq mi (523.7/km2)
• Metro	269,291
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Codes	29572, 29575, 29577, 29578, 29579, 29586, 29587, 29588
Area code(s)	843
FIPS code	45-49075[1]
GNIS feature ID	1249770[2]
Website	www.cityofmyrtlebeach.com

Myrtle Beach ( /mʊrˈtəlˈbiːtʃ/) is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina.

It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the Southeast, attracting an estimated 14.6 million visitors each summer.^{[citation needed]} As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 27,109, with the Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway combined statistical area population of 329,449.^[3]

Geography[link]

Myrtle Beach is protected from erosion by vegetation-filled sand dunes.

Technically a man-made island, Myrtle Beach has been separated from the continental United States since 1936 by the Intracoastal Waterway,^[4] forcing the city and area in general to develop within a small distance from the coast. In part due to this separation, the area directly west of Myrtle Beach across the waterway remained primarily rural, whereas its northern and southern ends were bordered by other developed tourist towns, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach. Since then, the inland portion of the Myrtle Beach area has developed dramatically and the beach itself is developing westward.

Due to strong erosion and tropical cyclones along the Atlantic Ocean, the city is separated from its beach by large dunes populated with sea grasses, which stabilize the sandy soil underneath and act as a natural seawall against storm surge. In conjunction, the city has also renourished the beach's sands several times, with one instance almost immediately followed by the landfalls of hurricanes Hugo and Hazel, necessitating a second replenishment to fill in the quick loss of the first.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.8 square miles (43.5 km²), of which, 16.76 square miles (43.5 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.12%) is water.

Climate[link]

According to Köppen climate classification, Myrtle Beach has a humid subtropical climate or Cfa – typical of the Gulf and South Atlantic states. The city enjoys abundant sunshine year-round with more than 2800 hours annually.

The summer season is long, hot, and humid in Myrtle Beach. Average daytime highs are from 83 to 91°F (28 to 33°C) and average night-time lows are near 70°F (21°C). The coastal location of Myrtle Beach mitigates summer heat somewhat compared to inland areas of South Carolina: Thus, while nearby Florence, SC averages 65 days annually with high temperatures of 90°F or higher - Myrtle Beach averages only 21. The Bermuda High pumps in humidity from the tropical Atlantic toward Myrtle Beach, giving summers a near tropical feel in the city. The warm Atlantic Ocean reaches 80°F or higher in the summer months off Myrtle Beach, making for warm and sultry summer nights. Summer thunderstorms are common in the hot season in Myrtle Beach, and the summer months from June through September have the most precipitation. In summer, thunderstorms normally build during the heat of the day - followed by brief and intense downpours.

Sunrise in Myrtle Beach during the fall of 2005.

Myrtle Beach has mostly mild winters of short duration: Average daytime highs range from 57 to 61°F (14 – 16°C) and nighttime lows are in the 36 to 38°F (2 – 3°C) from December through February. Winter temperatures vary more than summer temperatures in Myrtle Beach: Some winters can see several cold days with highs only in the upper 40s F (7 - 9°C), while other winter days can see highs in the upper 60s and low 70s F (19 - 23°C). Myrtle Beach averages 33 days annually with frost. Snowfall is very rare in Myrtle Beach and this part of the state, although a few times every decade a trace of snow might fall. In February 2010, a rare 2.8 inches of Snow fell in Myrtle Beach. The Spring (March and April) and Fall (October and November) months are normally mild and sunny in Myrtle Beach, with high temperatures in the 60s and 70s. The beach season in Myrtle Beach normally runs from late April through late October. SST (Sea Surface Temperatures) are often in the lower 80's (26 - 28°C) off South Carolina in summer and early fall.

Summer thunderstorms can be severe, but tornadoes are rare in Myrtle Beach. Tropical cyclones occasionally impact Myrtle Beach, through weaker tropical storms and weak tropical lows are more common. Like most areas prone to tropical cyclones, a direct hit by a major hurricane is infrequent in Myrtle Beach. The last hurricane to cause significant damage in Myrtle Beach was Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The worst hurricane in the history of Myrtle Beach was Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

History[link]

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Long Bay area was inhabited by the native Waccamaw Tribe. The Waccamaw used the river for travel and fished along the shore around Little River. Waties Island, the primary barrier island along Long Bay, has evidence of burial and shell mounds, remains of the visiting Waccamaw.^[5]

The first European settler along Long Bay arrived in the late 18th Century, attempting to extend the plantation system outward towards the ocean.^[6] Records are sparse from this period, with most of the recorded history pieced together from old land grants documents.

These settlers were met with mixed results, producing unremarkable quantities of indigo and tobacco as the coast's soil was sandy and most of the crop yields were of an inferior quality.

Prior to the American Revolution, the area along the future Grand Strand was essentially uninhabited. Several families received land grants along the coast, including the Withers: John, Richard, William, and Mary. This family received an area around present-day Wither's Swash, also known as Myrtle Swash or the eight-Mile Swash. A separate grant was granted to James Minor, including a barrier island named Minor Island, now Waties Island, off of the coast near Little River.^[7]

Mary Wither's gravestone at Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church speaks to the remoteness of the former Strand: "She gave up the pleasures of Society and retired to Long Bay, where she resided a great part of her life devoted to the welfare of her children."^[8]

As the American colonies gained independence, the area remained essentially unchanged, and the coast remained barren. George Washington scouted out the Southern states during his term, traveling down the King's Highway. He stayed a night at Windy Hill (part of present day North Myrtle Beach) and was led across Wither's Swash to Georgetown by Jeremiah Vereen.^[9]

The Withers family remained one of the few settlers around Myrtle Beach for the next half-century. In 1822, a strong hurricane swept the house of R. F. Withers into the ocean, drowning 18 people inside. The tragedy made the Withers family decide to abandon their plots along the coast.

Left unattended, the area began to return to forest.^[10]

On February 28, 1899 Burroughs and Collins, predecessor of modern day Burroughs and Chapin, received their charter to build the Conway & Seashore Railroad to transport timber from the coast to inland customers. The railroad began daily service on May 1, 1900 with two wood-burning locomotives. One of the engines was dubbed The Black Maria and came second-hand from a North Carolina logging operation. A community named "Withers" post office was established at the site of the old Swash.

After the railroad was finished, employees of the lumber and railroad company would take train flatcars down to beach area on their free weekends, becoming the first Grand Strand tourists.^[11] The railroad terminus was nicknamed "New Town", contrasting it with the "Old Town", or Conway.

At the turn of the 19th to 20th century, Franklin Burroughs envisioned turning New Town into a tourist destination rivaling the Florida and northeastern beaches. Burroughs died in 1897, but his sons completed the railroad's expansion to the beach and opened the Seaside Inn in 1901.^[12]

Around 1900, a contest was held to name the area and Burroughs' wife suggested honoring the locally abundant shrub, the Southern Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera). A Myrtle Beach post office was subsequently built, followed by the area incorporating as a town in 1938 and as a city in 1957.^[13]

In 1937, Myrtle Beach Municipal Airport was built, however it was promptly taken over by the United States Army Air Corps in 1940 and converted into a military base. Commercial flights began in 1976 and shared the runway for over 15 years until the air base closed in 1993. Since then the airport has been named Myrtle Beach International Airport. In 2010 plans to build a new terminal were approved. In 1940, Kings Highway was finally paved, giving Myrtle Beach its first primary highway.

Demographics[link]

Myrtle Beach is the largest principal city of the Myrtle Beach-Conway-Georgetown CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metropolitan area (Horry County) and the Georgetown micropolitan area (Georgetown County),^[14][15][16] which had a combined population of 329,449 at the 2010 census.^[3]

As of the 2010 census, the population of Myrtle Beach was 27,109.^[3] Per the 2000 census^[1] there were 22,759 permanent residents in Myrtle Beach, 10,413 households, 5,414 families, 1,356.5 people per square mile (523.7/km²), with 14,658 housing units at an average density of 873.5 per square mile (337.3/km²)

Race[link]

The racial makeup of the city was:

• 81.16% Caucasian
• 12.76% African-American
• 0.42% Native American
• 1.28% Asian
• 0.13% Pacific Islander
• 2.37% from other races
• 1.88% from two or more races.
• Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.67% of the population.

Age[link]

Location of the Myrtle Beach-Conway-Georgetown CSA and its components:

  Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area

  Georgetown Micropolitan Statistical Area

Of the total Myrtle Beach population:

• 18.0% were 1–17
• 11.0% were between 18–24
• 33.6% were between 25–44
• 22.5% were between 45–64
• 15.0% were 65 or older
• Median age was 37 years
• 103 males per 100 females overall
• 101 males per 100 females age 18 and over

Income[link]

• Overall median income for a household in the city was $35,498
• Median income for a family was $43,900
• Males had a median income of $26,039
• $22,473 for females.
• The per capita income for the city was $23,214.
• About 7.6% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education[link]

College/post-secondary[link]

The Myrtle Beach metro area provides following college and post-secondary schools:

Public schools[link]

Myrtle Beach is served by a single public school district. Horry County Schools educates around 40,000 students and is the third largest school district in South Carolina.

Private schools[link]

Below is a list of private schools within the city of Myrtle Beach.

Healthcare[link]

The Grand Strand Regional Medical Center is a 219-bed acute care hospital serving residents and visitors of Horry and surrounding counties. The hospital offers the only cardiac surgery program in the area and is also a designated trauma center. Over 250 physicians serve at the facility.

Infrastructure[link]

Air[link]

The Market Commons was once the location of Myrtle Beach AFB.

• The Myrtle Beach International Airport (IATA: MYR/FAA LID: MYR), is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. (MYR) It was formerly known as Myrtle Beach Jetport (1974–1989) and is located on site of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.
• The General Aviation Terminal (ICAO: KMYR/FAA LID:MYR), is a part of the Myrtle Beach International Airport however, the terminal itself is located on the opposite side of the runway from the commercial terminal side of the airport on Airdrome Street accessed by Phillis Boulevard inside The Market Common Myrtle Beach. This new 11,500 square foot terminal was opened on May 21, 2010, built to modernize operations and accommodate the growing needs of the terminal. The new terminal replaces a building the was previously used as Base Operations when the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was active.
• Huffman Helicopters is within the Myrtle Beach International Airport as well. It is located on the eastern side of the airport with access from Kings Highway. Huffman Helicopters is a private helicopter facility that provides tour services in the Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas.
• Executive Aero is located at the Myrtle Beach International Airport as well in Hangar 328. They provide aircraft parts, maintenance, and inspection services at the airport.
• The Grand Strand Airport (IATA: CRE, ICAO: KCRE, FAA LID: CRE), is a county-owned, public-use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) northwest of the central business district of North Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. Grand Strand Airport is a single-terminal airport, serving primarily banner planes and small aircraft. Ramp 66 is the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) for the Grand Strand Airport providing services such as fuel, oxygen, hangar service, maintenance, and inspections.

Rail[link]

Myrtle Beach is served by the Waccamaw Coastline Railroad rail line that runs largely parallel to U.S. Route 501 between Conway and downtown Myrtle Beach. The line is owned by Horry County, but was leased in 2000 to the Carolina Southern Railroad.^[17]

Carolina Southern Railroad is a short line rail operator running on less than 100 miles (160 km) of rail at a maximum speed of 10 mph (16 km/h). It transports mostly freight brought to it from national rail operators. The company makes one scheduled delivery per month into the City of Myrtle Beach.^[18]

Roads[link]

• US 17
• US 501
• SC 31
• 
  US 17 Bus.
• Farrow Parkway
• Ocean Boulevard
• Harrelson Boulevard
• Grissom Parkway

Within the last decade, new roads have been created to ease congestion caused by the yearly influx of visitors. Most of these roads follow the Metro Loop Road Plan^{[citation needed]}, organized in 1997 to improve the traffic flow of Myrtle Beach. Some of the roads included have either been funded through RIDE I funding or through the City of Myrtle Beach.

RIDE II plans include the third phase of S.C. Highway 31, a graded separation of Farrow Parkway and US 17 Bypass at the back gate of the former Air Force base, and many other projects. The county is currently debating where to allocate the $400 million generated through a proposed 1-cent sales tax^{[citation needed]}. Other road projects in Horry County, including some in Aynor and Conway, will be included when voted upon.

Plans exist for Myrtle Beach to be eventually served by two interstates, Interstate 73 and Interstate 74. The Robert Edge Parkway will connect I-74 to downtown North Myrtle Beach.

Economy[link]

Myrtle Beach's economy is dominated by the tourist industry^{[citation needed]}, with tourism bringing in millions of dollars each year^{[citation needed]}. Hotels, motels, resorts, restaurants, attractions, and retail developments exist in abundance to service visitors.

There are over 250 golf courses in and around Myrtle Beach as the golfing industry represents a significant presence in the area.

A manufacturing base produces plastic, rubber, cardboard, foam, and ceramic products usually in small scale.

Tourism[link]

A view of the beach.

Hosting over 14.6 million visitors annually, The Grand Strand is home to an array of tourist attractions, and the area receives a large influx of visitors during all seasons.

Myrtle Beach hosts a variety of special conventions, events, and musical concerts. The area's attractions include its beaches and many golf courses, as well as a number of amusement parks, an aquarium, Legends In Concert, an IMAX theater, retail developments and over 1,900 restaurants^[19] including seafood restaurants, and a number of shopping complexes. The area also has dinner theaters, nightclubs, and many tourist shops. Myrtle Beach has an estimated 460 hotels, with many on the beachfront, and approximately 89,000 accommodation units in total. Also in the city is Myrtle Waves, one of the largest water parks on the eastern seaboard.

The Carolina Opry is another highly-acclaimed attraction, which features various musical, comedy, dance, and entertainment shows, including The Carolina Opry (variety show), Good Vibrations (best of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s), LIGHT—a Laser Extravaganza. During the holiday season, the venue hosts The Carolina Opry Christmas Special. It is currently housed in a 2,200 seat theater.

The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk opened in 2010 and has been recognized as the nation's #3 boardwalk by National Geographic^[20] and one of the best US boardwalks by Travel + Leisure magazine.^[21] Scheduled to open at the boardwalk in May, 2011 is The Myrtle Beach Skywheel, a 200-foot (61 m) observation wheel, similar to a ferris wheel, with glass gondolas that look over the Atlantic Ocean. This will be the first wheel of its kind in the U.S. Myrtle Beach State Park, established in 1935, has just under a mile of Grand Strand beach and is a prime location for swimming, hiking, biking, and fishing.

Hotels in Myrtle Beach.

The Myrtle Beach Convention Center is a large facility that hosts an array of different meetings, conferences, exhibits, and special events every year. The expansive center, which opened in 2003, also features a Sheraton hotel and resort.

Myrtle Beach welcomed Hard Rock Park in 2008, which was themed after the popular Hard Rock Cafe chain. After financial issues, the park became Freestyle Music Park for the 2009 season. The park features attractions themed after different genres of music, such as the British Invasion. The park did not open for the 2010 season however, and is currently tied up in legal issues.

Each March since 1951 during Ontario's spring break, Myrtle Beach has hosted Canadian-American Days, also known as Can-Am Days. Tens of thousands tourists flock to the area for a week's worth of special events.^[22] Myrtle Beach is also home to Coastal Uncorked, a food and wine festival held in the late spring annually.

With numerous professional fireworks displays along the oceanfront, Myrtle Beach is recognized among the top destinations for Fourth of July travel. Priceline.com ranked Myrtle Beach among its top 20 destinations for Fourth of July in 2010.^[23]

It is notable that gambling is not legal in South Carolina. However, Myrtle Beach residents and visitors have easy access to gambling by boat, which transports passengers into international waters beyond the reach of federal and state gambling laws.

Motorcycle rallies[link]

Myrtle Beach Bike Week, also called "Harley Bike Week" is a week-long motorcycle rally that started in 1940 and attracted as many as 200,000 visitors to the city every May. Black Bike Week, founded in 1980, takes place the weekend around Memorial Day Weekend and is the largest African American motorcycle rally in the US and attracts as many as 400,000 visitors. The event was created in response to a history of discrimination against African-American visitors and riders to Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand Area.^[24]

The Myrtle Beach government created 15 new laws aimed at preventing all sanctioned motorcycle events within the city in response to controversy including accusations of racism by African-American riders during their event and complaints of lawlessness and poor behavior during all highly attended events. Several lawsuits by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) against Myrtle Beach businesses were settled with agreements that discrimination cease, compensation be given to some plaintiffs, and employees be given diversity training.^[25] The NAACP suit against the City of Myrtle Beach was settled in 2006 without the city paying damages, but with the agreement police would use the same traffic control rules during both the black and the white motorcycle rallies.^[26]

The South Carolina Supreme Court in June 2010 unanimously overturned one of the 15 ordinances, which had required all motorcyclists to wear helmets, on the grounds that the state law, requiring helmets only for riders under age 21, cannot be preempted by a city ordinance. In addition, the Court ruled, the ordinance created undue confusion, and that the city itself had invalidated their own helmet law and some other ordinances in a subsequent amendment.^[27][28] The law had been challenged by a group of motorcyclists and a group of Myrtle Beach businesses called BOOST, Business Owners Organized to Support Tourism, who opposed the city's anti-motorcycle tourism policy.^[29]

Shopping[link]

Heroe's Harbor at Broadway at the Beach in June 2006

Myrtle Beach has many different stores and malls, is one of the largest shopping areas in the Southeastern United States, and is the largest shopping destination in South Carolina.

• Barefoot Landing opened in 1988 and currently includes 100 stores, restaurants and attractions. The center also has the Alabama Theatre, which has concerts by traditional country music singers. The center also includes a golf resort.
• Coastal Grand Mall opened in 2004 and is the largest indoor mall in the state. The mall, which has indoor and outdoor shopping areas, has a gross leasable area of 1,047,732 square feet (97,337.5 m²). The single-story facility features five anchor stores (including Sears,Belk, JCPenney, and Dillard's), a 14-screen movie theater, a food court, and roughly 170 stores in total.
• Myrtle Beach Mall is 525,385 square feet (48,809.9 m²), and features three anchor stores, notably Bass Pro Shops, as well as Belk and JCPenney. The single-story mall also has a 12-screen movie theater, a food court, and a variety of other specialty stores. This is formerly known as Colonial Mall, and originally Briarcliffe Mall.
• Tanger Outlets at Myrtle Beach features over 100 brand name outlets from many of the country's most popular brands, such as Nautica and Sony. It is located on U.S. Route 501 entering the city.^[30]
• Broadway at the Beach is a shopping complex set on 350 acres (1.4 km²) along the Highway 17 Bypass, featuring three theaters, 17 restaurants and more than 100 specialty shops as well as attractions, nightclubs, and three hotels, all surrounding the 23-acre (93,000 m²) Lake Broadway. It is the largest festival entertainment complex in South Carolina. Notable attractions are an IMAX theater, Ripley's Aquarium, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, and The Pavilion Nostalgia Park.
• The Market Common Myrtle Beach is a lifestyle center featuring several upscale shops, a movie theater. It is located on the site of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

Sports[link]

Myrtle Beach is home to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a Carolina League baseball team and Texas Rangers farm franchise and the Myrtle Beach FC, a pro soccer team playing in the National Premier Soccer League.

From 1998-2009 and again starting in 2011 (no Saturday races were held in 2010), the area hosted the Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon presented by Chick-Fil-A, every February featuring (since 2004) the Friday night Royal Bank of Canada 5K and the Saturday Dasani Half Marathon and Bi-Lo Marathon (from 1998 until 2008, a relay was held but dropped because of the popularity of the other events). Marathon day draws the limit of 6,000 runners annually (2,500 full, 3,500 half) and results usually in an unusual dawn as the race starts before dawn (6:30 AM) in order to finish by 2:30 PM.

BB&T Coastal Field is the home field of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and is located just off Highway 17 in Myrtle Beach. It opened in 1999 and seats 6,500 people. It is the finish point of the Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon. BB&T Coastal Field is also home of the annual "Baseball At The Beach" collegiate baseball tournament. Hosted by Coastal Carolina University each year, the tournament pits participating NCAA Division I baseball programs in the United States.

NASCAR-sanctioned Stock car racing is held at Myrtle Beach Speedway, a .538-mile (866 m), semi-banked, asphalt-paved oval track located on US 501. Drivers in the Late Model classes will compete (against those of Greenville-Pickens Speedway) for the South Carolina Championship in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. South Carolina Champions' scores will be calculated against other state and provincial champions for a continental championship.

It hosted the 2010 UOA Nationals where 8 collegiate ultimate teams from 5 conferences will be represented.

Golf[link]

The area is home to numerous golf courses and mini-golf courses along the Grand Strand and further inland. Myrtle Beach has been called the "Golf Capital of the World"^[31] because of the 120 golf courses located there, the record 4.2 million rounds played, and many miniature golf courses. 3.7 million total rounds of golf were played in 2007.^[19] The majority of the area's golf courses are public. Some of the notable golf courses and/or resorts include:

Media[link]

Television[link]

The Grand Strand and Florence, South Carolina share a common defined market by Nielsen Media Research in Horry, Marion, Dillon, Darlington, Marlboro, Scotland, Robeson, and Florence counties.

Radio[link]

Newspapers[link]

The Sun News is the largest daily paper published along the Grand Strand, with a readership base extending from Georgetown, South Carolina to Sunset Beach, North Carolina. The paper has been in existence since the 1930s and was formerly published by Knight Ridder before that company was bought by The McClatchy Company.^{[citation needed]}

There are by several weekly papers, including the Weekly Surge (produced by The Sun News),^[32] The Myrtle Beach Herald, and The Horry Independent.^[33]

There is also an online newspaper, The Myrtle Beach Gazette.^[34]

Sister cities[link]

Myrtle Beach has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

	Country	City	District / Region / State
	Argentina	Pinamar	Buenos Aires Province
	United Kingdom	Keighley	West Yorkshire
	Canada	Burlington	Ontario
	Ireland	Killarney	County Kerry

Notable people[link]

• Steve Bailey – Bassist
• Robert H. Brooks – Founder of Naturally Fresh, Inc. and Hooters of America chains
• Brandon Frye – NFL player, drafted by the Houston Texans, and played for other teams
• Dustin Johnson – PGA Tour player
• Ewa Laurance – Professional billiard player
• Ramon Sessions – NBA player
• Mike Tolbert – NFL player for the San Diego Chargers
• Tyler Thigpen – NFL player for the Miami Dolphins
• Kelly Wearstler – Interior designer; judge on Bravo's Top Design
• Steven Metz – National Security expert and author
• Vanna White – Game show personality

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

South Carolina portal

• Official website
• Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce
• "City of Myrtle Beach". Geographic Names Information System. USGS. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:2404346. Retrieved 2008-05-07. 
• Myrtle Beach at the Open Directory Project

v t e Municipalities and communities of Horry County, South Carolina, United States County seat: Conway Cities Conway Loris Myrtle Beach North Myrtle Beach Towns Atlantic Beach Aynor Briarcliffe Acres Surfside Beach CDPs Bucksport Forestbrook Garden City Little River Red Hill Socastee Unincorporated communities Bucksville Burgess Carolina Forest Cool Spring Galivants Ferry Green Sea Hickory Grove Homewood Ketchuptown Longs Pine Island Springmaid Beach Toddville Wampee

v t e  State of South Carolina Columbia (capital) Regions Atlantic Coastal Plain Blue Ridge Mountains Grand Strand High Hills of Santee Lake Murray Country The Lowcountry Metrolina The Midlands Olde English District Old 96 District Pee Dee Piedmont Sandhills Sea Islands The Upstate Larger cities Charleston Columbia Greenville Myrtle Beach North Charleston Rock Hill Spartanburg Smaller cities Aiken Anderson Beaufort Bennettsville Camden Cayce Easley Florence Forest Acres Gaffney Greenwood Greer Georgetown Goose Creek Hilton Head Island Isle of Palms Laurens, South Carolina Lexington Mauldin North Augusta North Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Simpsonville Summerville Sumter Union Walterboro West Columbia York Towns Abbeville Barnwell Batesburg-Leesville Cheraw Clemson Dillon Darlington Edgefield Fort Mill Fountain Inn Hardeeville Irmo Liberty Moncks Corner Mount Pleasant McCormick Marion Newberry Pendleton Pickens Seneca Sullivan's Island Travelers Rest Walhalla Westminster Williamston CDPs Berea Carolina Forest Dentsville Gantt Ladson Parker Red Hill Saint Andrews Seven Oaks Socastee Taylors Wade Hampton Counties Abbeville Aiken Allendale Anderson Bamberg Barnwell Beaufort Berkeley Calhoun Charleston Cherokee Chester Chesterfield Clarendon Colleton Darlington Dillon Dorchester Edgefield Fairfield Florence Georgetown Greenville Greenwood Hampton Horry Jasper Kershaw Lancaster Laurens Lee Lexington Marion Marlboro McCormick Newberry Oconee Orangeburg Pickens Richland Saluda Spartanburg Sumter Union Williamsburg York Topics History Famous people Governors Legislature State House Congressional districts Census areas State parks Rivers Wildlife refuges Historic places Amusement parks Colleges and universities Sports venues Shopping malls Television stations Radio stations Highways Airports Visitor attractions

State of South Carolina
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Palmetto State
Motto(s): Dum spiro spero* (Latin) Animis opibusque parati† (Latin), Prepared in Mind and Resources
Official language(s)	English
Demonym	South Carolinian
Capital (and largest city)	Columbia
Largest metro area	Columbia (MSA)
Area	Ranked 40th in the U.S.
- Total	32,020[1] sq mi (82,931. km2)
- Width	200 miles (320 km)
- Length	260 miles (420 km)
- % water	6
- Latitude	32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N
- Longitude	78° 32′ W to 83° 21′ W
Population	Ranked 24th in the U.S.
- Total	4,679,230 (2011 est)[2]
- Density	155/sq mi  (60.0/km2) Ranked 19th in the U.S.
- Median household income	$39,326 (39th)
Elevation
- Highest point	Sassafras Mountain[3][4] 3,560 ft (1,085 m)
- Mean	350 ft  (110 m)
- Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean[3] sea level
Before statehood	Province of South Carolina
Admission to Union	May 23, 1788 (8th)
Governor	Nikki Haley (R)
Lieutenant Governor	Glenn McConnell (R)
Legislature	General Assembly
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Lindsey Graham (R) Jim DeMint (R)
U.S. House delegation	5 Republicans, 1 Democrat (list)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC -5/-4
Abbreviations	SC US-SC
Website	www.sc.gov

South Carolina (ⁱ/ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/) is a state in the Southeastern United States. It is bordered to the north by North Carolina; to the south and west by Georgia, located across the Savannah River; and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was originally named by King Charles II of England in honor of his father Charles I (Carolus being Latin for Charles). South Carolina was the 8th state to ratify the US Constitution and become a state which it did on May 23, 1788. South Carolina later became the first state to vote to secede from the Union which it did on December 20, 1860. It was readmitted to the United States on June 25, 1868.

South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 24th most populous of the 50 United States. South Carolina comprises 46 counties. The capital and largest city of the state is Columbia.