An investigation of vegetational zonation on a pair of two hundred foot high, north-facing bluffs adjacent to the Congaree River floodplain in central South Carolina was conducted. This zonation parallels the terraced landscape of these bluffs. A soil moisture gradient reveals a decrease in soil moisture with an increase in distance from the floodplain. One hundred species of plants, including twenty-five new county records, make up the Beech Ravine Community. An increase in slope resulted in increased erosion and soil surface evaporation as well as decreased percolation. These factors contribute to a more open canopy and a decrease in the number of herbaceous plants.