Marsh of Okefenokee

The marsh of Okefenokee ( Okefenokee Swamps ) is a Marécage filled with a not very deep Tourbe, of 438.000 acre S (1600 km ²) extending on the two American States from Georgia and the Florida. Most of the marsh is protected by the National Refuge from the wildlife from Okefenokee and the Okefenokee Wilderness .

Situation and history

This marsh is the largest “black” water peat marsh of North America. Its name means the “ground which trembles” in the language of the Indiens of America, in reference to its spongy marshes. This one was formed during the 6500 last years by the accumulation of the peat in a not very deep basin on the edge of an old Atlantic coastal moor, the geological relic of an estuary Pléistocène. The marsh is framed by the Trail Ridge , a raised strip of land, considered as having been formed like coastal dunes or a barrier of islands. The rivers St-Marys and Suwannee come both from the marsh. That of Suwannee starts as of the heart of the marsh of Okefenokee in the form of marine current and drains at least 90% of the dividing line of the marsh towards the Gulf of Mexico, more in south-west. The river St-Marys, which drains only 5 to 10% of the south-eastern end of the marsh, circulates along the west coast of the Trail Ridge , then crosses it before turning to the east, towards the Atlantic Ocean. Canal of Suwanee was dug through the marsh towards the end of the XIXe century in a vain attempt to drain water of Okefenokee. After the bankruptcy of the company, the major part of the marsh was repurchased by the Hebard family of Philadelphia, which led expensive operations of plantation of Cyprès of 1909 to 1927. Several other companies the arboricolous ones have also to manage the installation of railways in the marsh until in 1942, whose remainders can still be seen today since the water ways of the marsh. West coast of the marsh, on the island of Billy , certain equipment and other objects of the Twenties recall the past of a town of 600 inhabitants.

The major part of the marsh of Okefenokee is included in 403.000 acres (1630 km ²) of the National Refuge of the wildlife of Okefenokee.

There are four public entries or landings in the marsh:

Suwannee Canal Re-creation Area with Folkston (Georgia)
Kingfisher Landing with Race Lays (Georgia)
Stephen C. Foster State Park with Fargo (Georgia)
Suwannee Sill Recreation Area with Fargo (Georgia)

Moreover, a private attraction, the Okefenokee Swamp Park, provides an access close to Waycross.

Tourism

Many tourists visit the National Refuge of the wildlife of Okefenokee each year. The marsh provides an important economic resource to the state of Georgia (of south-east) and to that of the Florida (of the North-East). Approximately 400.000 people visit the marsh annually, with much of visteurs coming from more distant places such as the Germany, the the United Kingdom, the France, the Japan, the China and the Mexico. The service providers at the entries of refuge and several suppliers local offer excursions guided in motor boats, Canoë or Kayak.

The mining titanium operation by Dupont

An operation of extraction of Titanium 50 years carried out by the company Dupont, was planned for 1997, but protests and an opposition of the public and government as for the probably disastrous effects on the environment between 1996 and 2000 made give up the project in 2000 and the company to withdraw their mineral rights for always. In 2003, Dupont returned the 16.000 acres (65 km ²) which it had bought at the bottoms conservation, and in 2005, almost 7.000 acres (28 km ²) of these grounds were retransférées with the National Refuge of the wildlife of Okefenokee.

Wild life

The marsh of Okefenokee is the place of life of much of marine Oiseaux, like the Héron S, the Ibis or the Gruidae S, although the populations evolve/move according to the water level. Okefenokee is famous for its many Alligator S American and it is a critical habitat for the black bear of Florida.

External bonds

National Refuge of the wildlife of Okefenokee ( in )
the marsh of Okefenokee and its National Refuge ( in )
adventures of Okefenokee ( in )
Okefenokee, the " ground which tremble" ( in )
events on the Dupont business (since May 27th, 1997) ( in )
Natural history of the marsh of Okefenokee ( in )

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