| Cooper River | |
|---|---|
 TheArthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the Cooper River inCharleston, South Carolina | |
 Map of the Charleston Harbor watershed showing Cooper River. | |
  Location of outlet. | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Carolina |
| County | Berkeley,Charleston |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 33°04′01″N79°55′23″W / 33.0668378°N 79.9231373°W /33.0668378; -79.9231373 |
| Mouth | |
• location | Charleston Harbor,Atlantic Ocean |
• coordinates | 32°45′43″N79°54′14″W / 32.76194°N 79.90389°W /32.76194; -79.90389 |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
TheCooper River is a mainlytidal river in theU.S. state ofSouth Carolina. The cities ofMt. Pleasant,Charleston,North Charleston,Goose Creek,Moncks Corner, andHanahan are located along the river. Short and wide, the river is joined first by theblackwater East Branch and then farther downstream at the tidalWando River. Almost immediately thereafter, the Cooper River widens into itsestuary and unites with theAshley River to form theCharleston Harbor.[1]
Long used as an important commercial waterway, the West Branch of the Cooper River was initially connected to theSantee River near its navigation head by theSantee Canal, built in the late 18th century. Though the West Branch still rises as a blackwater swamp in central Berkeley County, its main headwaters have been shifted toLake Moultrie by the 1940s vintage Tail Race Canal. Lake Moultrie is, in turn, fed fromLake Marion by a diversion canal built around the same time period. This artificial rerouting of the Cooper River basin has essentially unified the Santee and Cooper River systems into a single hydrological drainage entity.
The river was named forAnthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and chiefLord Proprietor of theCarolina Colony. Charleston was founded on the western bank of the Ashley River in 1670 (atCharles Towne Landing), before moving across to its current peninsular location ten years later.
Rice andindigo were the primary commodity crops cultivated on the plantations surrounding thebrackish marshland of the Cooper River from the early Colonial through the end of theCivil War periods. Former plantations along the river includeLewisfield,Mulberry,Middleburg,Quinby and Mepkin, which is now operated asMepkin Abbey, a Trappist monastery. Many of these and other structures contribute to theCooper River Historic District, a national historic district that encompasses areas along both branches of the river. In addition to theMepkin Abbey Botanical Garden, nearby attractions include theCypress Gardens and theOld Santee Canal Park.
Daniel Island and Drum Island (uninhabited) are adjacent to the river. Cargo terminals, a paper mill, and the formerCharleston Naval Base line its shore. ThePatriot's Point naval and maritime museum is located at the mouth of the river. Berthed at Patriot's Point are fourmuseum ships, most notablyUSS Yorktown, a World War IIaircraft carrier.
Goose Creek, a tributary of the Cooper River, was the site of a U.S. Navysubmarine base through the late 1990s. It operated as a nuclear weapons handling facility servicing fleet ballistic submarines until the advent of the larger Tridentsubmarine-launched ballistic missile. Since theOhio-class submarines required a deeper draft, the nuclear weapons handling had to move to another facility.
Formerly traffic across the river was limited to ferries. TheJohn P. Grace Memorial Bridge was opened for service on August 8, 1929, as the automobile and trucks became an increasingly important mode of transportation. It was named for the commissioner who inspired the state's highway system. The State of South Carolina built a parallel span that opened April 29, 1966, theSilas N. Pearman Bridge constructed a few yards (meters) to the south. For more than a quarter of a century, the only connection between Charleston and its rapidly growing northern suburb ofMt. Pleasant was by these two bridges. In 1992, theDon Holt Bridge was completed a few miles upriver as part of theI-526 corridor, and became the third bridge to span the river.
Thecable-stayedArthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge (or "New Cooper River Bridge") opened to traffic on July 16, 2005, to replace the two older bridges. Demolition of the Grace and Pearman bridges began shortly afterwards and was completed in late 2007. A popular 10k run across the bridge is held each spring, and is known as theCooper River Bridge Run.
Though both bridges are modern in every respect, the Holt and Ravenel bridges carry all motor vehicular traffic across the river in the metropolitan area. Further north, the Dennis C. Bishop Bridge carriesUS 52-US 17 Alternate traffic across the Tail Race canal just below thePinopolis Dam on Lake Moultrie in northern Berkeley County.
ACSX Transportationtrestle bridge traverses the upper reaches of the West Branch, 13 miles (21 km) below the Pinopolis Dam.[2] Another rail bridge crosses the Tail Race Canal less than a mile below the dam.
