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Take a hike along the newly opened section of the South River Trail and learn a bit about Georgia's rivers!
This series will provide some great one on one time with nature as you learn about the many rivers throughout the state. Rivers have always played a vital role in the history and development of Georgia, and continue today to be major sources of drinking water, navigation, and recreation.
The Georgia River series is not a P&G series. Almost all of the caches are along a paved PATH trail that can be accessed by walking, running, or biking. There are a few different points that you can jump on the trail, but we recommend parking at the Gresham Park Recreation Center at the corner of Gresham Rd and Clifton Church Rd.
The South River Trail is still expanding with plans to connect to the Atlanta BeltLine to the west and Panola Mountain State Park to the east.
The Altamaha River is a major Georgia river. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles (220 km) from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into the ocean near Brunswick, Georgia. There are no dams directly on the Altamaha, though there are some on the Oconee and the Ocmulgee. Including its tributaries, the Altamaha River's drainage basin is about 14,000 square miles (36,000 km2) in size, qualifying it among the larger river basins of the US Atlantic coast. It is reportedly the third largest contributor of fresh water to the Atlantic Ocean from North America. Including its longest tributary (the Ocmulgee River) its length of 470 miles places it seventh on the list of U.S. rivers entirely within one state, behind only four Alaskan rivers, the Sacramento-Pit River in California, and the Trinity River in Texas.
The Altamaha River traverses a broad area of low population density with few significant towns or cities along its course. There are some along its upper tributaries, such as the fall line cities of Milledgeville on the Oconee and Macon on the Ocmulgee. Centuries ago, riverboats used the Altamaha to reach those towns and the plantations founded along the rivers, which were the main transportation routes. According to the USGS, variant and historical names of the Altamaha River include A-lot-amaha, Alatahama, Alatamaha, Allamah, Frederica River, Rio Al Tama, Rio de Talaje, and Talaxe River.
Although used in the 19th century as a route for commerce between central Georgia and the coast, the river is nearly entirely still in its natural state, and was designated a bioreserve by The Nature Conservancy in 1991. Over one hundred rare or endangered species may be found in the river basin, and the delta is a major stopover for many species of migratory birds.
The Altamaha River flows through a flood plain up to five miles (8 km) wide and consisting of some of the last remaining hardwood bottomlands and cypress swamps in the American South. As the river approaches the Atlantic Ocean it becomes a broad estuary. At least 120 species of rare or endangered plants and animals live in the Altamaha River watershed, including eleven species of pearly mussels, seven of which are endemic to the Altamaha. The river basin also supports the only known example of old growth Longleaf Pine and Black oak forest in the United States. Other notable species include Shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, West Indian manatee, Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi), Greenfly orchid, and Georgia plume. The unusual Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha), now extinct in the wild, was found by John Bartram along the Altamaha River in 1765. Bartram sent seeds from the trees to England and planted some in his garden in Philadelphia, where some still live.
The Altamaha River marked the western border of the Colony of Georgia until the American Revolution and therefore the western border of the English settlement in North America. It also marked the boundary between the Spanish missionary provinces of Guale and Mocama. The name comes from a Yamasee chief named Altamaha.
You are hunting a regular sized container that will hold trade items and travel bugs.
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