Short-eared Owl

COLLECTING SYSTEM

TRANSPORTING SYSTEM

Tributary Network Red-tailed Hawk One of the most surprising DISPERSING characteristics of a river system Numerous channels converge at the southwest corner of the Okefenokee Swamp SYSTEM SEVILLE is the intricate tributary network near Fargo, Georgia to form the Suwannee River. It flows southerly to White Springs, that makes up the collecting A River System system. This detail does not show The Watershed PITTS A river system is a network of connecting Florida and then forms a wide loop toward the west before continuing southward to the entire network, only a tiny A ridge of high ground borders every river

MILL CR. channels. Water from rain, snow, ROCHELLE portion of it. Even the smallest system. This ridge encloses what is called groundwater and other sources collects empty into the Gulf of Mexico, 265 miles from its source. tributary has its own system a watershed. Beyond the ridge, all water HATLEY into the channels and flows to the ocean. of smaller and smaller tributaries flows into another river system. Just as A river system has three parts: a collecting until the total number becomes water in a bowl flows downward to a DOUBLE RUN system, a transporting system and a astronomical. Most of the common destination, all rivers, creeks, dispersing system. earth’s surface is some type streams, ponds, lakes, wetlands and other of drainage system. types of water bodies in a watershed drain ARABI DEEP CR. into the river system. A watershed creates a natural community where every living thing REBECCA Alligators live along Tennessee has something in common – the source and AMBOY the Suwannee River. final disposition of their water. DAKOTA WEST FK. Watersheds Within Coosa WORTH ABBA the Suwannee Watershed WESTWOOD 1. Alapaha FITZGERALD 2. Little River ASHBURN Tallapoosa Oconee Chattahoochee 3. Withlacoochee LITTLE RIVER Naturalist and writer William Bartram 4. Suwannee SYCAMORE BIG CR. explored the Okefenokee Swamp Ogeechee SAND CR. IRWINVILLE during his travels through the American Southeast in the late 1700s. Altamaha COVERDALE MYSTIC DANIELS CR. Flint HAT CR. OCILLA Satilla ISABELLA 1

SHINGLER WILLACHOOCHEERIVER 2 MIDDLE CR. ALAPAHA RIVER 3 SYLVESTER CHULA REEDY CR. 4 HARDING Suwannee St. Marys White-tailed Deer Ochlockonee SUMNER

POULAN Georgia’s 14 Georgia’s 52 GORDY TY TY Secondary Watersheds BROOKFIELD Primary Watersheds WARRIOR CR. TIFTON Georgia has 14 primary watersheds: The state’s 14 primary watersheds are divided into 52 secondary watersheds, shown here. Those HORSE CR. Altamaha, Chattahoochee, Coosa, ARNOLD CR. Flint, Ochlockonee, Ocmulgee, 52 watersheds are further divided into 395 even smaller watersheds and those into 1,960 watersheds. ENIGMA Oconee, Ogeechee, Satilla, Savannah, St. Marys, Suwannee, Tallapoosa and Theoretically, you can continue dividing watersheds TY TY CR. Tennessee. until each one is the size of the “Tributary Network” illustrated above.

LOLLY CR. LOLLY ALAPAHA FENDER Mountains OMEGA Nature’s Organization Rugged Appalachian and Mother Nature gave Georgia two natural Cumberland Mountains GUM CR. organizing principles that determine the courses Kingfisher CROSLAND Piedmont NEW RIVER and characteristics of its rivers. One is its Rolling red clay hills BANNOCKBURN watersheds. The other is the state’s 3 distinct NORMAN PARK LENOX regions: the Mountains, the Piedmont and the The Fall Line Coastal Plain. Rivers that originate in the 50 million BEAR CR. WEBER Mountains or Piedmont are “alluvial” rivers that years ago the carry heavy loads of silt. Rivers that begin in the ocean came FIVEMILE CR. to here BRUSHY CR. Coastal Plain are dark, clear streams, often referred LACONTE TENMILE CR. to as NASHVILLE “blackwater” rivers. Sometimes Coastal ELLENTON Owners of small alluvial rivers merge with Plain houseboats enjoy Fertile farm lands, SPARKS Coastal Plain rivers. With its INDIAN CR. the scenic pleasures environmentally COGDELL headwaters in the Okefenokee OKAPILCO CR. of the Suwannee. rich wetlands GREASY BRANCH Swamp in extreme South GUM SWAMP and swamps ADEL Georgia, the Suwannee is a BIG CR. BLACK RIVER Coastal Plain blackwater river. MANOR LITTLE RIVER ARGYLE BERLIN SIRMANS SUWANNEE CR. ALLIGATOR CR. RAY CITY CECIL CANE CR. The LAKELAND HOMERVILLE RACE POND BARNEY BANKS LAKE Suwannee BARRETTS

HAHIRA DUPONT River PAVO System MULE CR. MORVEN STOCKTON BEMISS Numerous channels • converge at the southwest Valdosta NAYLOR corner of the Okefenokee Suwannee R. LAKE VERNE BARWICK Swamp near Fargo, OKEFENOKEE SWAMP Georgia to form the MIDDLE FK NORTH FK. Suwannee River. The WITHERS Suwannee drains about TATUM CR. EAST FK 800 of the 1,000 square VALDOSTA MAYDAY THELMA QUITMAN HOWELL HAYLOW miles of the Okefenokee FRUITLAND SUWANNEE CANAL MUD CR. Swamp, while the SUWANNOOCHEE CR. DIXIE WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER CR. BAY GRAND St. Marys drains the rest. KINDERLOU The Okefenokee, or “Land of the Trembling Earth,” was PISCOLA CR. OUSLEY SUWANNEE RIVER so named by the Seminole Indians because of the unsta- ble nature of its soil. The swamp is one of the largest The Suwannee River corridor is home DASHER to a wide variety of birds, mammals, freshwater swamplands in the United States and by far reptiles and fish. BADEN ALAPAHA RIVER the most significant inland body of water in the STATENVILLE TWIN LAKES TARVER Suwannee basin. From its origin, the Suwannee flows FARGO southerly 45 miles to White Springs, Florida and then LAKE PARK NEEDMORE EDITH forms a wide loop toward the west picking up, in turn, TOMS CR. CLYATTVILLE its principal tributaries, the Alapaha, Withlacoochee and Monarch Butterfly NANKIN Santa Fe Rivers. Large springs occur in the limestone POTTER sinkhole area of Florida. Continuing southward, the

COUNCIL Suwannee empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Short PINETTA JENNINGS stretches of tidal marsh along the Gulf Cormorant BELLVILLE BAKER’S MILL of Mexico are the only direct exposure to saltwater.

SANDLIN BAY Native Americans navigated the Suwannee HANSON long before the discovery of America.

PINHOOK SWAMP JASPER WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER SUWANNEE RIVER

ALAPAHA RIVER

LEE

FORT UNION GENOA HOPEWELL SUWANNEE SPRINGS ELLAVILLE

FALMOUTH WHITE SPRINGS

LIVE OAK WINFIELD NEWBURN HOUSTON CHANCEY WELLBORN DOWLING PARK

WATERTOWN The Spanish built missions along the LAKE CITY Gulf Coast in the region where the DAY Suwannee merges with the ocean.

ALLIGATOR LAKE The Okefenokee McALPIN Swamp is one of LURAVILLE SWIFT CR. POND several Georgia LULU HIGHLAND locations where black bears make their homes. COLUMBIA CITY RAIFORD ALTON OLUSTEE CR.

NEW RIVER LAWTEY MAYO O’BRIEN SWIFT CR. LAKE BUTLER In September of 1539, and again in November BROWNS STILL of the same year, Spanish explorer BRANFORD DUKES NEW RIVER Hernando de Soto STARKE crossed the Suwannee River, FORT WHITE LAKE SAMPSON which he called SAMPSON CITY the River of Deer BLAND CLAYNO because local Coastal Plains SANTA FE RIVER streams are BROOKER Indians supplied SANTA FE characterized HAMPTON him with by clear, clean deer meat. “blackwater.” GRAHAM SANTA FE RIVER HATCHBEND SPRING HILL The dark tea HIGH SPRINGS LA CROSSE color comes THERESSA from tannic MONTEOCHA acid in WILLIFORD WALDO decaying CLARK HAGUE riverbank ALACHUA vegetation. EARLETON As Georgia pioneers moved west, many Creek Indians fled BELL FOREST GROVE

south into Florida where they became known as Seminoles, SUWANNEE RIVER SANTA FE LAKE a word that means one who lived out in the wilds away CURTIS from main settlements. WANNEE MELROSE

Steam-powered paddleboats transported agricultural BLITCHVILLE products and passengers on the Suwannee River.

WILCOX OLD TOWN

In the 1920s, Georgia was a world leader in the production of resin that was extracted from pine trees growing CHIEFLAND along the Suwannee and other South Georgia river corridors.

SUWANNEE The Okefenokee Swamp, the location of Fishermen catch a the headwaters of the Suwannee, is one variety of freshwater of the largest freshwater wetland areas in SUWANNEE SOUND species in the Stephen Foster, born in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania the United States and home to many species Suwannee and in 1826, wrote “Way Down Upon the Suwannee of plants and animals. its tributaries. River” in 1851 without ever actually seeing the beautiful “blackwater” stream.

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.