Canal Diggers Trail in early spring.

The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000 acre (1,770 km²), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia-Florida border 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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Canal Diggers Trail in Okefenokee Swamp © 2005 Wyatt Greene File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Canal Diggers Trail in Okefenokee Swamp © 2005 Wyatt Greene File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... An acre is the name of a unit of area in a number of different systems, including Imperial units and United States customary units. ... Peat in Lewis, Scotland Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 395,080 acre (1,598 km²) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton and Ware Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. ... Okefenokee Wilderness Okefenokee Wilderness is an 353,981 acre (1,432. ... The Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia are generally acknowledged to be: Amicalola Falls Okefenokee Swamp Providence Canyon Radium Springs Stone Mountain Tallulah Gorge Warm Springs References Geogia Encyclopedia Category: ...

A wildfire which began with a lightning strike near the center of the Refuge on May 5, 2007 eventually merged with another wildfire which began near Waycross, Georgia on April 16 due to a tree falling on a power line. By May 31, more than 600,000 acres had burned in the region, or more than 935 square miles (2400 km²), "an area greater than the State of Rhode Island." [1] [2] A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, peat fire (gambut in Indonesia), bushfire (in Australasia), or hill fire, is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources. ... is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Waycross is a city in Ware County, Georgia, United States. ... is the 106th day of the year (107th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the unit of measure known as the acre. ... This article is about the unit of measure. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

Location and history

It is the largest swamp in the world that is not on the coast. The name comes from the Hitchiti okifanô:ki, meaning "bubbling water",^[1] a reference to its spongy bogs. The swamp 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 Okefenokee Swamp and drains at least 90% of the swamp's watershed southwest towards the Gulf of Mexico. The St. Marys River, which drains only 5 - 10% 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. The Suwanee Canal was dug across the swamp in the late nineteenth century in a failed attempt to drain the Okefenokee. After the 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 also ran train tracks into the swamp until 1942, remnants of which can still be seen crossing swamp waterways. On the west side of the swamp, Billy's Island,logging equipment and other artifacts remain of a 1920's logging town of 600 residents. Most of the Okefenokee Swamp is included in the 403,000 acre (1630 km²) Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The Mikasuki language (also Miccosukee or Hitchiti-Mikasuki) is a Muskogean language spoken by around 500 people in southern Florida. ... The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a major river of southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. ... The St. ... The Suwanee Canal was an attempt to drain large portions of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia via a canal. ... The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 395,080 acre (1,598 km²) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton and Ware Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. ...

Map of Okefenokee Swamp

There are four public entrances or landings to the swamp: Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1500x2065, 547 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1500x2065, 547 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...

• Suwannee Canal Recreation Area at Folkston, Georgia
• Kingfisher Landing at Race Pond, Georgia
• Stephen C. Foster State Park at Fargo, Georgia
• Suwannee Sill Recreation Area at Fargo, Georgia

In addition,a private attraction, Okefenokee Swamp Park, provides access near Waycross, Georgia Folkston is a city located in Charlton County, Georgia. ... Stephen C. Foster State Park is an 80 acre (0. ... Fargo is a city located in Clinch County, Georgia. ... Fargo is a city located in Clinch County, Georgia. ... Waycross is a city in Ware County, Georgia, United States. ...

State Road 2 passes through the Florida portion between the Georgia cities of Council and Moniac. Florida State Road 2 is the designation of two east-west highways, each having at least one terminus at the Sunshine States border with Georgia. ... Moniac Georgia, a settlement situated along the St. ...

Swamp Perimeter Road, as well, is a road that outlines the swamp from around all sides.

Tourism

Many visitors enter the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge each year. The swamp provides an important economic resource to southeast Georgia and northeast Florida. About 400,000 people visit the swamp annually, with many guests from such distant locations as Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, China and Mexico. Service providers at the Refuge entrances and several local outfitters offer guided tours by motorboat, canoe and kayak. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 395,080 acre (1,598 km²) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton and Ware Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. ...

Dupont titanium mining operation

A 50-year titanium mining operation by DuPont was set to begin in 1997, but protests and public/government opposition over the possibly disastrous environmental effects throughout 1996-2000 caused the company to abandon the project in 2000 and retire their mineral rights forever. In 2003, DuPont donated the 16,000 acres (65 km²) it had purchased for mining to The Conservation Fund, and in 2005, nearly 7,000 acres (28 km²) of the donated land was transferred to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. General Name, symbol, number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 47. ... Chuquicamata, the second largest open pit copper mine in the world, Chile. ... Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, or du Pont may refer to: // E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the worlds third largest chemical company Du Pont Motors Gilbert Dupont, a French stock brokerage part of retail banking network Crédit du Nord ST Dupont, a French manufacturer of fine... 2003 GMO USDA protest Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations: sometimes in favour, more often opposed. ... The United States Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a Federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965. ...

Wildlife

An Alligator lounges on a log in the Okefenokee Swamp

The Okefenokee Swamp is home to many wading birds, such as herons, egrets, ibises, cranes and bitterns, though populations fluctuate with water levels. Okefenokee is famous for its abundant American alligators and it is a critical habitat for Florida black bear. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 831 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Alligator resting on log. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 831 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Alligator resting on log. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Genera See text. ... Genera Egretta Ardea An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. ... Genera Threskiornis Pseudibis Thaumatibis Geronticus Nipponia Bostrychia Theristicus Cercibis Mesembrinibis Phimosus Eudocimus Plegadis Lophotibis Ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae. ... Genera Grus Anthropoides Balearica Bugeranus Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds of the order Gruiformes, and family Gruidae. ... † see also: Heron The bitterns are members of the heron family Ardeidae. ... For other uses, see Alligator (disambiguation). ... “Black Bear” redirects here. ...

Recent ecological and economic disasters

Main article: 2007 Georgia/Florida wildfires

More than 60,000 acres (240 km²) of the swamp burned down in April of 2007. Smoke from the fires was reported as far away as Atlanta and Orlando. In April, 2007, wildfires started in the Okefenokee Swamp, most of which is located in Georgia. ... “Atlanta” redirects here. ... Nickname: Location in Orange County and the state of Florida. ...

Trivia

• In Walt Kelly's comic strip Pogo, the characters made their home in the Okefenokee Swamp.
• In Piers Anthony's Xanth novels, the fantasy realm of Xanth is a parallel universe of Earth's Florida, and includes a mirror of the Okefenokee, called the Ogre-fen-ogre Swamp.
• The Okefenokee Swamp is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia.
• The fictitious 1947 Roger Rabbit cartoon, The Wet Nurse, is supposedly set in the "OkeyDokey Swamp", as a tribute to the Okefenokee Swamp.
• A track called '3 AM at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee' is included on the 1976 album Stratosfear from electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream.
• Over the 11 years M*A*S*H was on the air. They made several references to the Okefenokee Swamp.
• On the original Scooby Doo cartoons they showed the "Oke-Fu-noke Swamp"(as they spelled it)on several shows.
• On 08/24/1959 Freddy Cannon had a Top 100 hit with the song "Okefenokee" it Peaked at #43.
• The theme song for the motion picture Gator sung by Jerry Reed was titled "The Ballad Of Gator Mcklusky" which is about the "Okefenokee Swamp".
• big parts of the plot of T. C. Boyle's novel "East is East" take place in the Okefenokee-swamp (second part, "Okefenokee").

Walter Crawford Kelly, Jr (August 25, 1913 - October 18, 1973), known simply as Walt Kelly, was a cartoonist notable for his comic strip Pogo featuring characters that inhabited a portion of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Pogo as drawn by Walt Kelly. ... Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born August 6, 1934 in Oxford, England) is a writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. ... Xanth is a fantasy world created by author Piers Anthony for a series of novels. ... Parallel universe or alternate reality in science fiction and fantasy is a self-contained separate reality coexisting with our own. ... This article is about the mythological creature. ... The Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia are generally acknowledged to be: Amicalola Falls Okefenokee Swamp Providence Canyon Radium Springs Stone Mountain Tallulah Gorge Warm Springs References Geogia Encyclopedia Category: ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Stratosfear is an electronic music album released in 1976 by the German group Tangerine Dream. ... Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. ... M*A*S*H title screen from the television series M*A*S*H was a media franchise active, in various forms, from 1968 to 1986. ... Gator is a 1976 action film starring and directed by Burt Reynolds that is a sequel to White Lightning. ...

References

Bibliography

• Afable, Patricia O. and Madison S. Beeler (1996). "Place Names", in "Languages", ed. Ives Goddard. Vol. 17 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Okefenokee Swamp

• Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
• Okefenokee Swamp and National Wildlife Refuge
• Okefenokee Adventures home page
• Okefenokee Pastimes home page
• Current Events On The Okefenokee, Dupont, and Bruce Babbitt (as of May 27 1997)
• Natural History of the Okefenokee Swamp