Page 11 - DGO 2025
P. 11

American Alligator in Ware County




















                Land of the Trembling Earth                                                                     • VISIT THE OKEFENOKEE •


                 magine a landscape with Spanish moss-    Welcome to the Okefenokee Swamp in
                 covered cypress trees whose “knees” rise   Southeast Georgia – the largest blackwater
               I from the glassy surface of tea-colored   wetland ecosystem in North America. The high
                waters. Watch floating flowering plants drift   levels of tannins, organic compounds released
                by and see an abundance of lily pads, like   from decaying vegetation, stain the slow-
                a hopscotch game for insects. Listen while   moving swamp water a rusty hue.
                                                 The word Okefenokee is believed to be
                birds call in the canopies. From a boardwalk   Creek Indian meaning “trembling earth.”
                  trail, glimpse a faraway sighting of the   You may think it’s all water, but buoyant
                     iconic American Alligator sunning   peat deposits (decomposing plant materials)
                       itself on a grassy bank.   can move when walked upon and there
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           D i s c o v er Geor gi a O ut doors . c om • 3 6 5 ° To tal  M ar k eti ng
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