Cooper River (South Carolina) in the context of "Santee Canal"

Charleston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley, Cooper, and Wando rivers. Charleston had a population of 150,227 at the 2020 census, while the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties, has an estimated 870,000 residents. It ranks as the third-most populous metropolitan area in the state and the 71st-most populous in the U.S. It is the county seat of Charleston County.

Charleston was founded by the English in 1670 as Charles Town, named in honor of King Charles II. Originally established at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River (now Charles Towne Landing), the settlement was moved in 1680 to its present location, where it quickly grew to become the fifth-largest city in North America by the 1690s. During the colonial period, Charleston remained unincorporated and was governed by a colonial legislature and a royal governor, with administrative districts and social services organized by Anglican parishes. Although the state capital was relocated to Columbia in 1788, Charleston remained among the top 10 U.S. cities by population through 1840. A significant part of Charleston's history is its central role in the Atlantic slave trade; local merchants, including Joseph Wragg, helped break the monopoly of the Royal African Company, making Charleston a primary entry point for enslaved Africans. Almost one-half of enslaved people imported to the United States arrived in Charleston. In 2018, the city formally apologized for its role in the American slave trade.

The Battery is a landmark defensive seawall and promenade in Charleston, South Carolina. Named for a pre–Civil War coastal defense artillery battery originally built by the British at the site, it stretches along the lower shores of the Charleston peninsula, bordered by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, which meet here to form Charleston Harbor.

The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at 32°49′7.10″N 79°55′40.41″W / 32.8186389°N 79.9278917°W / 32.8186389; -79.9278917. Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston Harbor forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The Ashley River is a blackwater and tidal river in South Carolina, rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County. It consolidates its main channel about 5 miles (8 km) west of Summerville, widening into a tidal estuary just south of Fort Dorchester. The river then flows for approximately 17 mi (27 km) along the historical banks of the City of North Charleston before reaching peninsular Charleston. The much wider Ashley joins the Cooper River off the Battery in Charleston to form Charleston Harbor before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2012 the land around the Ashley River (or in Ashley Barony, as the original land grant was called) is mostly undeveloped.

The river was named for Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and chief Lord Proprietor of the Carolina Colony by explorer Robert Sandford. In 1675 Cooper was granted 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of land along the river after a permanent settlement was made at Albemarle Point in 1670. This settlement was the “first permanent European settlement” in South Carolina and today Albemarle Point is known as Charles Towne Landing. The settlement would be moved to its current peninsular location across the river ten years later and is well known as Charleston.

The Wando River is a tidewater river in the coastal area of South Carolina. It begins in the town of Awendaw, Charleston County, and has its mouth at the Cooper River shortly before it flows into Charleston Harbor. The Wando's drainage area is 73,061 acres (295.67 km). Nearby Drum Island is uninhabited. It is spanned by the bridges crossing the Wando River and Towne creek.

The river was named for the Wando people, a band of the Cusabo.