Imagine 400,000 acres of pristine wilderness, vast prairies, lakes, islands and forests with hundreds of species of rare plants and exotic animals. Long, wide trails to help you explore. Now, imagine that the ground underneath all of this is not solid earth, but water. Welcome to the Okefenokee Swamp, in the southeastern state of Georgia in the United States.

The Okefenokee is a vast bog inside a huge, saucer-shaped depression that was once part of the ocean floor. Virtually all the water in the swamp is from rainwater. Two rivers drain the swamp: the St. Mary's flows into the Atlantic, while the Suwanee (made famous by the American songwriter Stephen Foster) drains into the Gulf of Mexico.

A Cypress tree-lined canal ©2005 L. Reid

The word Okefenokee is a European version of its Native American name meaning "land of the trembling earth." Peat deposits, as much as 15 feet thick, cover much of the swamp's floor. The peat deposits are so unstable that trees and bushes tremble from merely stomping the surface.

In the early 20th century, the swamp was systematically logged for the cypress trees that grow there. After about 40 years, most of the old-growth trees were gone and would not re-grow quickly. Cypress trees in the area grow at a rate of one inch in diameter every 100 years.

In the late 1930s, the U.S. Government made the swamp into a national wildlife refuge, and in 1974, much of the refuge became a national wilderness, thereby ensuring that there would be no further commercial exploitation of the area. Nature helps manage the environment; fire and water define the swamp's habitats. After long periods of drought, fires will burn out the vegetation and the top layers of peat. Periods of rain will create the lakes and prairies.

Today, you can rent a canoe or a kayak, or take an escorted tour through the swamp. The water, turned black from the tannin of decomposing plants is mirror-like and reflects the surface. The tannin also turns black the skin of the swamp's most famous reptiles -- alligators. Alligators are less aggressive than their cousin, the crocodile, but we'll take that statement at face value -- who wants to find out for certain?

Many species of exotic birds live in the swamp. Throughout the year, heron, egrets, sandhill cranes, red-cockaded woodpeckers, hawks, eagles, ducks, osprey and ibis make appearances in the swamp, as do bears, deer, wild turkeys, and otters. Orchids, lillies, pitcher plants, sweet-bay and wildflowers are just a few of the varieties of plants seen in the swamp all summer.

The Okefenokee Swamp is about 45 minutes north of Jacksonville, Florida, five hours from Atlanta, Georgia. The best time to visit is in the spring, before May, and in the fall, after September. 

An island in the middle of the "Grand Prairie" ©2005 L. Reid