Wetlands in Florida and Georgia, USA
The
Okefenokee Swamp
is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha),
peat
-filled wetland straddling the
Georgia
?
Florida
line in the United States. A majority of the
swamp
is protected by the
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
and the
Okefenokee Wilderness
. The Okefenokee Swamp is considered to be one of the
Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia
and is the largest "
blackwater
" swamp in North America.
The swamp was designated a
National Natural Landmark
in 1974.
[1]
Etymology
[
edit
]
Aerial view of wetlands in Okefenokee
The name Okefenokee is attested with more than a dozen variant spellings of the word in historical literature. Though often translated as "land of trembling earth", the name is likely derived from
Hitchiti
oki fanoːki
"bubbling water".
[2]
Origin
[
edit
]
The Okefenokee was formed over the past 6,500 years by the accumulation of peat in a shallow basin on the edge of an ancient Atlantic coastal terrace, the geological relic of a Pleistocene estuary. The swamp is bordered by Trail Ridge, a strip of elevated land believed to have formed as coastal dunes or an offshore barrier island. The
St. Marys River
and the
Suwannee River
both originate in the swamp. The Suwannee River originates as stream channels in the heart of the Okefenokee Swamp and drains at least 90 percent of the swamp's watershed southwest toward the Gulf of Mexico. The
St. Marys River
, which drains only 5 to 10 percent of the swamp's southeastern corner, flows south along the western side of Trail Ridge, through the ridge at St. Marys River Shoals, and north again along the eastern side of Trail Ridge before turning east to the Atlantic.
History
[
edit
]
One of the canals in the Okefenokee Swamp
The earliest known inhabitants of the Okefenokee Swamp were the
Timucua
-speaking Oconi, who dwelt on the eastern side of the swamp. The Spanish friars built the mission of Santiago de Oconi nearby in order to convert them to Christianity. The Oconi's boating skills, developed in the hazardous swamps, likely contributed to their later employment by the Spanish as ferrymen across the
St. Johns River
, near the riverside terminus of North Florida's
camino real.
[3]
Modern-day longtime residents of the Okefenokee Swamp, referred to as "Swampers", are of overwhelmingly
English ancestry
. Due to relative isolation, the inhabitants of the Okefenokee used Elizabethan phrases and syntax, preserved since the early colonial period when such speech was common in England, well into the 20th century.
[4]
The
Suwannee Canal
was dug across the swamp in the late 19th century in a failed attempt to drain the Okefenokee. After the Suwannee Canal Company's bankruptcy, most of the swamp was purchased by the Hebard family of Philadelphia, who conducted extensive cypress logging operations from 1909 to 1927. Several other logging companies ran railroad lines into the swamp until 1942; some remnants remain visible crossing swamp waterways. On the west side of the swamp, at Billy's Island, logging equipment and other artifacts remain of a 1920s logging town of 600 residents. Most of the Okefenokee Swamp is included in the 403,000-acre (163,000 ha)
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
.
The largest
wildfire
in the swamp's history began with a lightning strike near the center of the refuge on May 5, 2007, eventually merging with another wildfire that began near
Waycross, Georgia
, on April 16 when a tree fell on a power line. Named the
Bugaboo Scrub Fire
, by May 31, it had burned more than 600,000 acres (240,000 ha), or more than 935 square miles, and remains the largest wildfire in both Georgia and Florida history.
[5]
[6]
In 2011, the
Honey Prairie Fire
consumed 309,200 acres (125,100 ha) of land in the swamp.
[7]
Access
[
edit
]
Map of Okefenokee Swamp
There are four public entrances:
In addition, a 501(c)(3) non-profit,
Okefenokee Swamp Park
, provides the northernmost access into the Okefenokee Swamp near
Waycross, Georgia
.
State Road 2
passes through the Florida portion between the Georgia cities of
Council
and
Moniac
.
The graded Swamp Perimeter Road encircles Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Gated and closed to public use, it provides access for fire management of the interface between the federal refuge and the surrounding industrial tree farms.
Tourism
[
edit
]
Many visitors enter the
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
each year. The swamp provides an important economic resource to southeast Georgia and northeast Florida. More than 600,000 visitors from as many as 46 countries travel to the Okefenokee refuge each year to enjoy its unmatched wilderness. This tourism supports over 750 local jobs and contributes over $64 million to local economies.
[
citation needed
]
Titanium mining operations
[
edit
]
A 50-year
titanium
mining
operation by
DuPont
was set to begin in 1997, but
protests
and public?government opposition over possibly disastrous environmental effects from 1996 to 2000 forced the company to abandon the project in 2000 and retire their mineral rights forever. In 2003, DuPont donated the 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) it had purchased for mining to
The Conservation Fund
, and in 2005, nearly 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) of the donated land was transferred to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
[8]
In 2018, Twin Pines Minerals LLC proposed another titanium mining operation near the Okefenokee Swamp. Over 60,000 people sent comments opposing the operation.
[9]
Later, in 2020, a new rule by the
Trump Administration
reduced what was protected under the
Clean Water Act
, removing about 400 acres (160 ha) in the proposed mining site from federal protections.
[10]
The updated plan would include mining 577.4 acres (233.7 ha) for titanium and zirconium, 2.9 miles (4.7 km) southeast of the Okefenokee Refuge.
[11]
However, in 2022,
U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff
blocked the proposed titanium mine after the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
warned of severe potential damage to the wildlife refuge.
[12]
The Okefenokee Swamp was listed as one of
America's Most Endangered Rivers
in 2020
[13]
and again in 2023 on account of the mining threats.
[14]
Environment
[
edit
]
The Okefenokee Swamp is part of the
Southeastern conifer forests
ecoregion
. Much of the Okefenokee is a
southern coastal plain nonriverine basin swamp
, forested by bald cypress (
Taxodium distichum
) and swamp tupelo (
Nyssa biflora
) trees. Upland areas support
southern coastal plain oak domes and hammocks
, thick stands of evergreen
oaks
. Drier and more frequently burned areas support
Atlantic coastal plain upland longleaf pine woodlands
of longleaf pine (
Pinus palustris
).
[15]
The swamp has many species of
carnivorous plants
, including many species of
Utricularia
,
Sarracenia psittacina
, and the giant
Sarracenia minor
var.
okefenokeensis
. A species of mushroom-like fungus
Rogersiomyces okefenokeensis
J.L. Crane & Schokn. 1978
is found in the swamp.
An
American alligator
lounges on a log in the Okefenokee Swamp.
The Okefenokee Swamp is home to many wading
birds
, including
herons
,
egrets
,
ibises
,
cranes
, and
bitterns
, though populations fluctuate with seasons and water levels. The swamp also hosts numerous
woodpecker
and
songbird
species.
[16]
Okefenokee is famous for its amphibians and reptiles such as
toads
,
frogs
,
turtles
,
lizards
,
snakes
, and an abundance of
American alligators
. The oldest known alligator, named "Okefenokee Joe" after environmentalist
Okefenokee Joe
, died in September 2021, at almost 80 years of age.
[17]
[18]
The Okefenokee Swamp is also a critical habitat for the
Florida black bear
.
Recent events
[
edit
]
More than 600,000 acres (240,000 ha) of the Okefenokee region burned from April to July 2007. Essentially the entire swamp burned, but the degrees of impact are widely varied. Smoke from the fires was reported as far away as
Atlanta
and
Orlando
.
Four years later, in April 2011, the Honey Prairie wildfire began when the swamp was left much drier than usual by an extreme
drought
. As of January 2012, the Honey Prairie fire had already scorched more than 315,000 acres (127,000 ha) of the 438,000-acre (177,000 ha) Okefenokee, sending volumes of
smoke
across the southern
Atlantic seaboard
and with an unknown impact on wildlife. With the drought still continuing, the massive Honey Prairie fire continued to burn at only 75% containment.
[19]
On April 17, 2012, the Honey Prairie Fire was finally declared out. Thousands of firefighters, refuge neighbors, and businesses contributed to the safe suppression of this fire. At the peak of fire activity on June 27, 2011, the Honey Prairie Complex had grown to 283,673 acres (114,798 ha) and had 202 engines, 112 dozers, 20 water tenders, 12 helicopters, and 6 crews with a total of 1,458 personnel assigned. Over the duration of the fire, there were no fatalities or serious injuries. Firefighters managed to contain most of the fire within the boundaries of the 402,000 acre Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, with only 18,206 acres (7,368 ha) burned outside the refuge.
[20]
On April 6, 2017, a lightning strike started the West Mims Fire,
[21]
which burned about 152,000 acres (62,000 ha).
[22]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
- The name "Okefenokee" has appeared many times in American pop culture, including
Walt Kelly
's
comic strip
Pogo
, where the characters made their home in the Okefenokee Swamp, and
Scooby-Doo
, in which
Scooby-Dum
comes from the Okefenokee as well.
- The 1941 movie
Swamp Water
, directed by
Jean Renoir
, starring
Walter Brennan
and
Walter Huston
, and based on the novel by
Vereen Bell
, was shot on location in the Okefenokee near Waycross, Georgia.
- The 1952 movie
Lure of the Wilderness
, a remake of
Swamp Water
starring
Jeffrey Hunter
, Walter Brennan (reprising his
Swamp Water
role), and
Jean Peters
, was set in the Okefenokee Swamp.
[23]
- In 1974, two
LP recordings
of the sounds of the swamp were released as disk 6 of the
Environments
series.
- Tales of the Okefenokee
was a
mill chute
ride at
Six Flags Over Georgia
that ran from 1967 to 1980, with theming inspired by the
Uncle Remus
stories of
Joel Chandler Harris
.
[24]
- An illustrated children's book,
Deep in the Swamp
by Donna M. Bateman (2007), describes the plant and animals of the Okefenokee Swamp.
[25]
- 3AM at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee
is a title of one of the songs recorded by the band Tangerine Dream on their 1976 album
Stratosfear
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Okefenokee Swamp"
.
nps.gov
.
National Park Service
. Archived from
the original
on April 2, 2015
. Retrieved
March 10,
2013
.
- ^
Handbook of North American Indians: Languages
. Government Printing Office. January 1, 1978.
ISBN
9780160487743
.
- ^
Milanich, Jerald T. (August 14, 1996).
Timucua
. VNR AG. pp. 50, 202.
ISBN
9781557864888
.
Anthropologist John Worth has suggested the Oconi, a group unrelated to the Oconee Indians of later times who spoke a Muskhogean language, were inland on the eastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.
- ^
Matschat, Cecile Hulse (1938).
Suwannee River: Strange Green Land
. University of Georgia Press. p. 7.
- ^
"Georgia Forestry Commission Home Page"
. Gatrees.org
. Retrieved
April 6,
2011
.
- ^
"Massive Blaze in S.E. Georgia Jumps Fire Lines"
. Jacksonville, Florida: WJXT-TV. May 25, 2007. Archived from
the original
on May 24, 2011
. Retrieved
April 6,
2011
.
- ^
"InciWeb: Honey Prairie Complex"
.
InciWeb
. Retrieved
October 14,
2016
.
- ^
Dunlap, Stanley (August 8, 2019).
"Public pressure killed Okefenokee mining plans once. Will it again?"
. Georgia Recorder
. Retrieved
February 22,
2021
.
- ^
Marks, Josh (January 2, 2021).
"LETTER: Sen. Perdue threatening to drain the wrong swamp, Georgia's world-famous Okefenokee"
.
Madison Journal Today
. Retrieved
February 22,
2021
.
- ^
Peck, Rena Ann (November 4, 2020).
"River watchdog: Federal clean water law changes threaten Okefenokee"
.
Savannah Morning News
. Retrieved
February 22,
2021
.
- ^
"Twin Pines Minerals, LLC ? Charlton County"
. Twin Pines Minerals, LLC. n.d
. Retrieved
February 22,
2021
.
- ^
Mecke, Marisa (June 3, 2022).
"Army Corps blocks mine near Okefenokee, cites failure to consult Muscogee Creek Nation"
. Savannah Morning News.
- ^
Landers, Mary (April 14, 2020).
"Okefenokee named among 'most endangered' rivers"
.
Savannah Morning News
. Retrieved
August 8,
2023
.
- ^
Mecke, Marisa (April 18, 2023).
"American Rivers names Okefenokee in Top 10 most endangered rivers"
.
Savannah Morning News
. Retrieved
August 8,
2023
.
- ^
United States Geological Survey
.
"Land Cover Viewer"
(Map).
National Gap Analysis Program
. United States Geological Survey
. Retrieved
February 8,
2013
.
- ^
"Bird Checklists of the United States: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge"
. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from
the original
on April 22, 2014
. Retrieved
March 28,
2015
.
- ^
Paul, Maria Luisa (September 11, 2021).
"Okefenokee Joe, 'an amazing old' alligator named after a Georgia singer, has died"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
March 30,
2023
.
- ^
"Okefenokee Joe, an alligator believed to be as old as WWII, passes away"
.
FOX TV Digital Team
. September 12, 2021
. Retrieved
September 19,
2021
.
- ^
"Honey Prairie Complex"
. InciWeb Incident Information system. Archived from
the original
on January 25, 2012
. Retrieved
February 2,
2012
.
"Honey Prairie Complex Fires"
. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
. Retrieved
February 2,
2012
.
"Okefenokee's birds undeterred by fires"
.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
. Retrieved
February 2,
2012
.
- ^
http://www.fws.gov/okefenokee/PDF/honey%20prairie%20fire%20declared%20out.pdf
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"South Georgia wildfire forces evacuations; ash reaches Jacksonville"
. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. May 19, 2017
. Retrieved
May 19,
2017
.
- ^
"GA Firefighters Report Progress Against West Mims Fire in Okefenokee"
. Firefighter News. May 19, 2017. Archived from
the original
on May 18, 2017
. Retrieved
May 19,
2017
.
- ^
"Lure of the Wilderness"
. Rotten Tomatoes
. Retrieved
July 21,
2013
.
- ^
Defunctland: The History of the Terrifying Splash Mountain Predecessor, Tales of the Okefenokee
, retrieved
May 15,
2023
- ^
"Deep in the Swamp"
.
Goodreads
. Retrieved
December 12,
2023
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Afable, Patricia O. & Beeler, Madison S. (1996). "Place Names". In Goddard, Ives & Sturtevant, William C. (eds.).
Handbook of North American Indians
. Vol. 17: Languages. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
- Worth, John E. (1998).
Timucua Chiefdoms of Spanish Florida. Volume 2: Resistance and Destruction
. University Press of Florida.
ISBN
0-8130-1574-X
. Retrieved
July 7,
2010
.
- Nelson, Megan Kate (2005).
Trembling Earth: A Cultural History of the Okefenokee Swamp
. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
This is a readable book from a professional historian that covers the history of the human interaction with the swamp from about 1700 to the 1940s, very good background for those planning a visit.
External links
[
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]
Significant waterways of Florida
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Larger rivers
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Lakes
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Smaller rivers
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Creeks and
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Canals
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See also
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Larger rivers
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Lakes
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Smaller rivers
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Tidal rivers
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Creeks and
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