Within the Columbia metropolitan area, the Broad and Saluda Rivers come together to form the Congaree River. Not far from the site of this image, the Broad River flowing down from the mountains of North Carolina and the piedmont of both states meets the smaller, swifter Saluda River flowing from a more narrow wedge of mountains and piedmont in South Carolina. The two rivers come together at the so-called fall line and form the Congaree River. This fall line is the meeting place of the hard rock of the ancient North American continent and the layers of soft sediment that have eroded over millions of of years from the mountains and piedmont to form the coastal plain. The result of this meeting of rivers and fall line is an exposure of rocky riverbed that often turns into whitewater rapids. Then, as it flows over the edge of the ancient continent, the Congaree river slows down and spreads over the softer sedimentary rocks and soils of what has locally been called Congaree Swamp. However, it is more accurately referred to as a floodplain, and it is the location of Congaree National Park. The result of all this is that Columbia has both a rapidly flowing, often whitewater, river in the northern and central part of the city and a soaked bald cypress floodplain just below the city limits. Columbia is blessed with rivers.
