Georgia's Little Amazon

Sunrise on Doboy Sound, part of the Altamaha River System.  Red sun at morning...you've been forewarned. 

There’s this special place… 

It’s a long, meandering river.  A vast wilderness, right smack-dab in the middle of the Georgia Coast. It's the largest undammed river on the Eastern Seaboard.  At 14,000 square miles, its watershed is the third largest river basin east of the Mississippi. Yet, it is contained entirely within the state of Georgia. The Nature Conservancy calls it one of “America’s Last Great Places” and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network has named it a Site of Regional Importance.  Some people call it “Georgia’s Little Amazon.”   You’ve probably never heard of it.  But if you live on the East Coast, there is a good chance you’ve driven over it. 

This place is the Altamaha River.

The Altamaha River watershed, including its two major tributaries, the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers (Source: Pfly, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>)

We have spent a lot of time with our students on the Altamaha and its estuary.  We’ve studied its fish and its water quality, from Doboy and Altamaha Sounds, upstream to the top of the delta.  And in our free time, we’ve explored its salt marshes, brackish marshes, and bottomland forests.  It is simply spectacular.  The most amazing thing is that you can spend an entire day on the water and scarcely see another boat.  There aren’t many navigable coastal wetlands in the U.S. where this is still true. 

Formed by the confluence of the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers, the Altamaha flows southeastward from central Georgia, reaching the Atlantic Coast between the towns of Darien and Brunswick.  For its entire 137-mile length, it is crossed by only 7 bridges: 5 road bridges and 2 railroad trestles. But one of those bridges is Interstate 95, the main north-south highway on the East Coast.  

The Altamaha supports the highest concentration of rare species of any river in Georgia; over 120 species of rare or endangered plants and animals, including 11 species of endangered mussles (7 of which are found nowhere else in the world). Other threatened and endangered species include the swallow-tailed kite, West Indian manatee, Atlantic sturgeon, and shortnose sturgeon (the Altamaha has the largest population of shortnose sturgeon south of Cheseapeake Bay).  Practically every species of bird that migrates along the Atlantic Flyway can be found in the Altamaha basin at some point in the year. 

Of course, the Altamaha is home to (almost) countless species of reptiles and amphibians, including A LOT of American Alligators. The vast, remote waters of its delta are also said to be home to “Altamaha-ha,” a mythical serpent whose description seems remarkably similar to that of the Loch Ness Monster.  Given the diversity of large critters who make their home here – which, in addition to those already mentioned, includes bottlenose dolphins, tarpon, gars, cobia, and many species of shark – it is not surprising that legends of such a Nessie-like "cryptid" creature abound. 

Not Altamaha-ha (AKA "Altie"), just a good'ole American alligator.  Gators are common here, especially in the the small creeks that crisscross the Altamaha Delta's brackish marsh. 

Loki on gator watch.

The reason that this great biodiversity persists is that there are large tracts of undisturbed wetlands encompassing several habitats, each hosting a distinct ecological community.  Starting upstream, the Altamaha’s tributaries run through long-leaf pine forests in Georgia’s Piedmont.  As you float along toward the coast, the flow of water slows, the river meanders, and its flood plain expands into bottomland hardwood forests and cypress swamps. At the upper threshold of the intertidal zone, just before the forest transitions into coastal marshes, the flood plain becomes tidal freshwater forested wetlands - TFFWs.  That’s right, it’s a forest that floods regularly at high tide.  Usually, it floods with freshwater but during big storms, it can be inundated with brackish water. Sea level rise is also causing the intertidal transition zone to move further inland, up the river. The salt marsh is marching inland along with it. Continuing downstream from the TFFW, you next encounter the brackish marsh, salt marsh, coastal sounds, the barrier islands, and finally, the ocean.  

Tidal freshwater forested wetland (TFFW) along the South Altamaha.

Brackish marsh surrounding General's Cut, a canal cutting more-or-less straight across the Altamaha Delta.  Before routes 17 and 95 were constructed, this was the primary way that people traveled between Brunswick and Darien.  Today, it's a pretty quiet stretch of water.  

An afternoon thunder storm in late June over the salt marsh that fringes Doboy Sound.

Looking out to sea from the crest of the primary dune at Nanny Goat Beach, Sapelo Island.

The Altamaha is a big river.  On average, it discharges about 100,000 gallons of water every second.  Driving over the Altamaha on Interstate 95, you would be forgiven for not noticing it, despite its enormous discharge.  Beginning just a few miles upstream from the point where the highway crosses, the main stem of the river branches repeatedly to form the complex network of smaller river channels and creeks of the Altamaha Delta.  As you cross each body of water, the signs on the highway say “Darien River,” “Butler River,” and “Champney River” (In addition to one that says “Altamaha River”).  But make no mistake, they are all branches of the Altamaha.  This river system conveys so much freshwater that it enters the ocean via two separate tidal inlets: Altamaha Sound and Doboy Sound.  

Screen capture from a Navionics chart showing the lower Altamaha River, the north end of St. Simons Island, Altamaha Sound, Wolf Island, Doboy Sound, the south end of Sapelo Island, and the Atlantic Ocean. Interstate 95 is the white line that crosses the entire delta from north to south. (https://webapp.navionics.com/)

The Altamaha Delta ecosystem has been studied intensely for over 20 years by scientists associated with the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems - Long Term Ecological Research Program, which is based at the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island. Funded by the National Science Foundation, this project involves dozens of faculty, graduate students, undergrads, and technicians from universities all over the country. It is one of the largest ecological research programs in the southeast U.S. The focus of the research is on long term environmental change. Many of the "fun facts" that we are providing here were established by this research program.

An incredible amount of land along the Altamaha has been set aside for conservation and recreation.  Almost the entire last 60 miles of the river is protected by a patchwork quilt of managed lands.

Protected lands along the entirety of the Altamaha (https://garivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AltamahaRiverCanoeTrailMap2012ARP.jpg).

Managed lands in the lower Altamaha Watershed (https://insideradvantage.com/2017/10/27/georgia-continues-altamaha-river-conservancy/). 

The town of Darien sits on a bluff overlooking the north side of the delta, and is home to Georgia’s largest commercial shrimp fishing fleet.  

F/V Grave Digger is a working shrimp boat that ties up at the docks next to Skipper's Fish Camp, on the Darien waterfront.  The bulk of the shrimp fleet ties up on the downstream side of the Rt. 17 bridge (background).

Darien is home port for the largest shrimp fleet in Georgia.

If you want to explore the Altamaha, the best way is by dinghy, kayak, or tour boat.  The water is navigable for larger boats pretty far upstream but the air draft of the Route 17 and 95 bridges is only 35 feet, and there are a lot of shoals and sandbars to dodge.  If your boat can fit under a 35’ bridge, one of the coolest anchorages and best hurricane holes in Georgia is just upstream of I-95, on the South Altamaha River. Unfortunately, Fulmar's mast is too tall to get there.  

The South Altamaha, which intersects the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) at marker 218.  The marina at Two-Way Fish Camp is just downstream (to the right) of the Route 17 bridge indicated by the orange and yellow line.  The hurricane hole mentioned in the text is indicated by the red and purple pins, just upstream of the blue and white diagonal line representing I-95 (https://webapp.navionics.com/).  

If your boat can't fit under a 35-foot bridge, you can anchor on the South Altamaha just downstream of the marina at Two-Way Fish Camp or get a dock space at Two-Way or at the the McIntosh County docks in Darien, on the Darien River (north side of the delta).  There are also boat ramps at Darien, on Champney Island, and at Two-Way Fish Camp.  From any of these locations, you can strike out in a small boat and explore some of the most breathtaking wilderness on the East Coast. The Georgia River Network has an app that gives information on public access points along the river. 

Is this a divine message?  Could this be our next cruising boat?  It's pretty common for cruising sailors to graduate to a trawler yacht once sailing becomes too much of a physical challenge.  But why have a trawler yacht when you can have a real trawler?

If you ever get the chance, check out the Altamaha River, Georgia's Little Amazon.  And if you can't get to the Georgia Coast, get out there and see the "Little Amazon" near you, whatever natural wonder that may be.