The Great Dismal Swamp EarthCache

The Great Dismal Swamp is forest wetlands area on the coastal plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. It is located within the cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk in Virginia as well as in Camden, Gates and Pasquotank Counties in North Carolina.

It is one of the last large and wild areas in the eastern United States. The Great Dismal Swamp is an excellent example of a nonriverine wetland. Forming approximately 9000 years ago, it grew without the benefit of rivers flowing into it or beside it. The swamp grew until it covered an area of approximately 1 million acres. In the perfect location to foster both northern and southern species of plants and animals, the ecosystem developed into a diversely unique bed of life. Wildfires periodically renew the forest. Biological diversity continued to flourish.

The Great Dismal Swamp received its name from early European settlers who referred to swamps in the southeast as “Dismals”. Most early mapmakers and surveyors described the swamp as a dismal and forbidding place.

The colonial period brought the onset of drainage ditches to enable agriculture and lumber harvests. George Washington personally surveyed the area 1763 and directed the digging of drainage ditches.

Eventually, over 150 miles of ditches and canals would drastically alter the ecosystem. Prior to the Civil War, runaway slaves sought refuge in the dense forest and used the ditches and canals for passage as they moved northward towards freedom.

The swamp forest is a wetland, a place where the soil is periodically saturated with water. It formed in a poorly drained, gently sloping basin that filled with peat over thousands of years. The peat, or partly decayed plant material, is 13 feet deep in some areas.

Swamps act as natural filters sorting out sediments and pollutants from the water. They also act like sponges, absorbing flood waters and slowly discharging water into streams, ponds and the ground.
Climate
The Swamp is located on the coastal plain. A region with humid summers and mild winters.
Topography:
The swamp is relatively flat with a high elevation of about 25 feet. The western boundary of the swamp is the Suffolk Scarp, a ridge about 50 feet high. Thus, groundwater moves from west to east through the swamp. The western part of the swamp is wetter than the eastern portion. As the seasons change, so do the water levels in the swamp. The eastern boundary is the Dismal Swamp Canal which was completed in 1805.

Hydrologic Cycle:
Hydrology is the study of all aspects of the earth’s water sources, uses, composition and distribution. The hydrologic cycle is the movement of water between the oceans, atmosphere and land. There are six basic stages in the cycle.
Runoff:
Water from rain, snowmelt or other sources that flows over the land surface.
Infiltration:
The process by which the water on the ground’s surface enters the soils.
Evaporation:
The transfer of water into the atmosphere as vapor.
Temporary Storage:
Water stored in ice, snow, bodies of water and plants.
Precipitation:
Any form of water that falls from the atmosphere (rain, snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain).
Discharge:
Groundwater released into streams, rivers and lakes from the soil.

In order to claim this earthcache you need to answer a few questions about the Great Dismal Swamp . Email those answers to me. Do not post the answers in your log. You are invited to include photos in your log. Photos are no longer a requirement for logging the find.
Question 1.
One of the earliest references to the “Dismal Swamp” was made on a map drawn in 1733. What was the name of the mapmaker?
Question 2.
Approximately how much rainfall does the Great Dismal Swamp receive annually?
Question 3.
The Great Dismal Swamp covers an area of approximately 125,000 acres today. How many acres are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. Department of the Interior) in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia and North Carolina? How many acres are managed by the Dismal Swamp State Park (NC Division of Parks and Recreation)in North Carolina?

I reserve the right to delete log entries that contain spoilers or for cachers that fail to provide correct answers.

Get more information about the Great Dismal Swamp, including activities, trails, wildlife and hours the parks are open at the following websites:
In Virginia – Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
In North Carolina – Dismal Swamp State Park