Kiawah Island Facts
| PRONUNCIATION |
KEE-a-wah (Kiawah)
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| LOCATION |
21miles south of historic Charleston...on the South Carolina coast.
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| SIZE |
10,000 acres, of which a substantial portion will be undeveloped, 10 miles is length... 1.5 miles at the widest point.
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| BEACH |
10.6 miles along the Atlantic Ocean with a width at low tide approaching 100 yards...bordered by protective sand dunes.
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| MARSHES-LAGOONS |
about 45 miles of high-land edge overlooking lagoons, marsh, creeks fresh water estuaries and Kiawah River, Intercoastal Waterway.
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| VEGETATION |
primarily palmettos, oaks hickories, sweetgum, magnolias, pines, sea oats and myrtles.
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| WILDLIFE |
18 species of mammals including whitetail deer, raccoon, opossum and squirrel and more than 30 species of reptiles and amphibians including alligators and sea turtles. (SPECIAL NOTE; Kiawah's efforts to protect the Atlantic Loggerhead Sea Turtle received national acclaim in 1981 when the Izaak Walton League honored Kiawah's program with a national conservation award).
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| BIRDS |
more than 140 species of birds including the Brown Pelican osprey, Wood Ibis, duck, sea gulls, terns, herons, hawks, and egrets.
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| CLIMATE |
spring and summer midday temperatures in the 80;s and sometimes 90's; fall temperatures in the 80's and 70's and winter temperatures in the 70's and 60's.
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| HISTORY |
named for the Kiawah Indians who inhabited the island in the 1600's...deeded to George Raynor in 1699 by the Lords Proprietors...has changed hands only five times since then...the prominent Vanderhorst family of Charleston kept the island for 180 years before selling it to C. C. Royal of Aiken in 1952 for lumbering...the Kiawah Island Company Limited (Kuwait) bought the island from the Royal family in 1974...Kiawah Resort Associates bought the island in 1988.
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| TENNIS |
the West Beach Tennis Center with a pro shop and 14 Har-Tru courts and two lighted hard courts...the East Beach Tennis Center near Night Heron Park with a pro shop, nine outdoor Har-Tru courts, three hard courts and an automated practice court.
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| GOLF |
four 18 hole championship courses - the 6,830 yard, par 71 Cougar Point Golf Course with water on 13 holes (designed by Gary Player); the 6,889 yard, par 72 Turtle Point Golf Course with three ocean holes (designed by Jack Nicklaus); the 6,840 yard, par 72 Osprey Point Golf Course with four natural lakes (designed by Tom Fazio); and the new oceanfront Pete Dye designed course, which was America's host site for the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 1997 World Cup of Golf.
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| ACTIVITIES |
ocean swimming and use of pools - April to October, Night Heron Park recreation complex, canoeing, bicycling on more than 14 miles of paved bicycling trails, sailing, windsurfing, fresh and saltwater fishing, crabbing, shrimping, hiking, beach combing, shelling, strolling or jogging, deep sea fishing, tours of historic Charleston, or just simply relaxing. |
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