Bald Eagle
COLLECTING SYSTEM
The Satilla River rises in the middle of South Georgia in Ben Hill and Coffee Counties. It flows east-southeast for 260 miles to empty into the Atlantic Ocean through St. Andrews Sound, north of Cumberland Island. TRANSPORTING SYSTEM
Tributary Network One of the most surprising DISPERSING SYSTEM characteristics of a river system is the intricate tributary network that makes up the collecting system. This A River System detail does not show the entire The Watershed A river system is a network of Monarch Butterfly network, only a tiny portion of it. A ridge of high ground borders every river system. connecting channels. Water from rain, Even the smallest tributary has its This ridge encloses what is called a watershed. Beyond snow, groundwater and other sources own system of smaller and smaller the ridge, all water flows into another river system. collects into the channels and flows to tributaries until the total number Just as water in a bowl flows downward to a common the ocean. A river system has three parts: becomes astronomical. Most of the destination, all rivers, creeks, streams, ponds, lakes, a collecting system, a transporting earth’s surface is some type of drain- wetlands and other types of water bodies in a watershed system and a dispersing system. age system. drain into the river system. A watershed creates a natural Cooper’s Hawk community where every living thing has something in common – the source and final disposition of their water.
Tennessee Mountains Rugged Appalachian and Watersheds Within Cumberland Mountains the Satilla Coosa Watershed White-tailed Deer Piedmont Savannah 1. Satilla Rolling red clay hills 2. Little Satilla 3. Turtle River Tallapoosa Oconee The Fall Line Chattahoochee 50 million Ocmulgee years ago the Ogeechee ocean came to here Altamaha
Flint 2 Satilla 1 Coastal Plain 3 The Satilla River corridor is home to Fertile farm lands, GRAHAM Suwannee a wide variety of birds, mammals, environmentally PINE GROVE reptiles and fish. rich wetlands ROPER and swamps BISHOP CR. St. Marys Ochlockonee BAXLEY Nature’s Organization SNIPESVILLE Georgia’s 14 Georgia’s 52 Primary Watersheds Secondary Watersheds Mother Nature gave Georgia two natural organizing Georgia has 14 primary watersheds: The state’s 14 primary watersheds are principles that determine the courses and characteristics of its rivers. One is its watersheds. The other is the state’s SURRENCY Altamaha, Chattahoochee, Coosa, Flint, divided into 52 secondary watersheds, shown 3 distinct regions: the Mountains, the Piedmont and the Cormorant DENTON Ochlockonee, Ocmulgee, Oconee, here. Those 52 watersheds are further divided Ogeechee, Satilla, Savannah, St. Marys, into 395 even smaller watersheds and those Coastal Plain. Rivers that originate in the Mountains or Suwannee, Tallapoosa and Tennessee. into 1,960 watersheds. Theoretically, you can Piedmont are “alluvial” rivers that carry heavy loads of PRIDGEN SWEETWATER CR. continue dividing watersheds until each one silt. Rivers that begin in the Coastal Plain are dark, clear HURRICANE CR. ODUM ROSE CR. DRY CR. LITTLE SATILLA CR. is the size of the “Tributary Network” streams, often referred to as “blackwater” rivers. OSIERFIELD illustrated above. Sometimes alluvial rivers merge with Coastal Plain riv- LITTLE HURRICANE CR. ers. With its headwaters well below the Fall Line, BIG SATILLA CR. the Satilla is a Coastal Plains blackwater river. HALLS CR. BROXTON OTTER CR. WRAY COLEMAN CR. WEST GREEN REEDY CR. The Satilla River System AMBROSE The Satilla River basin lies entirely within the state of Georgia. The Satilla rises in
FISHING CR. Ben Hill and Coffee Counties at an elevation of about 350 feet. It flows generally BUSHNELL east-southeast for 260 miles and empties into the Atlantic Ocean through St. Andrews ROCKINGHAM Sound, north of Cumberland Island. In the upper reaches, the river is bordered by ALMA BEAR CR. swamps, except where touched by bluffs, which sometimes reach to a height of 50 UPTON NICHOLLS feet above the river. From a width of 0.25 miles at river mile 7, the Satilla gradually WIGGINS CR. REEDY CR. SESSOMS widens, becoming approximately 1.5 miles across at the mouth. The lower reaches of the river are bordered by a salt marsh and have a maximum width of about 3 miles. DOUGLAS SCREVEN Satilla R. • Brunswick MERSHON HOG CR. BRISTOL
BEACH LITTLE SATILLA RIVER
BICKLEY MORA SATILLA RIVER SEVENTEENMILE CR. OFFERMAN BOLEN PATTERSON
HORTENSE PUDDING CR. DIXIE UNION OTTER CR. WILLACOOCHEE TRUDIE
BLACKSHEAR ALABAHA RIVER THALMANN KIRKLAND PEARSON AXSON STERLING RAYBON PYLES MARSH
MILLWOOD ST. SIMONS ISLAND WARESBORO WAYNESVILLE HARRINGTON LULATON ATKINSON TURTLE RIVER GLYNN HAVEN SEA ISLAND WAYCROSS NAHUNTA RED BLUFF CR. MILL CR. HOBOKEN
COGDELL BRUNSWICK ST. SIMONS ISLAND HICKOX
LITTLE SATILLA RIVER
WAVERLY JEKYLL ISLAND
BUFFALO CR. The Satilla is a popular location for fishing for catfish. WINOKUR WHITE OAK
TARBORO ST. ANDREWS SOUND RACE POND
JERUSALEM SATILLA RIVER
WOODBINE
CUMBERLAND RIVER
SILCO CROOKED RIVER
ELLIOTS BLUFF
CUMBERLAND ISLAND Sea kayakers explore the river and coastal marshes.
Pelican
Dolphins swim in the estuaries where coastal rivers merge with the ocean.
Native Americans navigated the Satilla long before the discovery of America.
Coastal Plain streams are characterized by clear, clean “blackwater.” The dark tea color comes from tannic acid in decaying riverbank vegetation.
American explorer and naturalist William Bartram visited the Satilla basin during his exploration of the American Southeast in 1775 and 1776.
A combination of rivers and ocean, the salt marsh along the Georgia coast is one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. Living plants and animals, as well as dissolved minerals and decaying vegetation, fill the marsh with nutrients.
African-Americans celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the coastal rivers and barrier islands through crafts, books, music Loggerhead turtles nest and educational tours. on beaches near the mouths of coastal rivers.
Recreational fishermen cast for shrimp in the tidal creeks at the mouth of the Satilla.
The 14 posters in the Georgia Rivers Poster Project were made possible by a public/private partnership between the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and . The rivers in the series are the Altamaha, Chattahoochee, Coosa, Flint, Ochlockonee, Ocmulgee, Oconee, Ogeechee, Satilla, Savannah, St. Marys, Suwannee, Tallapoosa and Tennessee. Ordering information for all posters may be found at www.cipublishing.com/ posters or 404.525.2285.