Gullahs, also known in some areas as Geechees and alternatively as Gullah–Geechees, are an African American ethnic group rooted in the coastal areas of the U.S. states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida from roughly Pender County, North Carolina to St. Augustine, Florida. Gullahs are descendants of West and Central Africans enslaved on plantations in the islands, waterways and coasts of this area, now designated the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. They have developed a distinctive culture and creole language, also known as Gullah, which have preserved a high volume of Africanisms as a result of their historical geographic isolation.