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Alligator in Okefenokee Swamp

The mysterious and enchanting Okefenokee Swamp is one of the largest and best preserved wetlands in the United States. It covers 438,000 acres in the southeastern corner of Georgia, spilling over into Florida north of Jacksonville. Most of the swamp is encompassed in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

 

Okefenokee is an American Indian word meaning "Land of the Trembling Earth. Peat deposits up to 15 feet deep cover much of the swamp, and it forms a surface so spongy that trees growing upon it sway or tremble when walked upon or stomped with the foot.

 

Two rivers rise from the swamp. The Suwanee, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico and the St. Mary's, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. The swamp itself is a vast bog in a saucer-shaped depression, covering an area 25X38 miles. This was once the sea floor, but is now 103 to 128 feet above mean sea level. Within the swamp are streams, lakes, and islands. I have spent many delightful days here on four different trips and have never been anywhere that I saw a greater variety of wildlife, including whitetail deer, black bear, river otter, turtles, snakes, an astonishing array of birds, and the undisputed king of the swamp, the American alligator.

 

There are three primary entrances to the swamp. On the north, near Waycross, is Okefenokee Swamp Park, operated by a private non-profit organization. To the east, near Folkston, is Suwanee Canal Recreation Area, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. To the west is Stephen C. Foster State Park. I have been to each of these and each offers a unique perspective of this amazing place. You may explore different parts of the swamp on foot, by canoe, or outboard motor boat. Boat rentals and/or tours are available at the places I have listed above. If you have time, a day or more could be well spent at each of them.

 

 

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Uploaded on November 18, 2008
Taken in March 1982