A Naturalist's Guide to the Okefenokee Swamp - Softcover

Taylor Schoettle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0964103826 ISBN 13: 9780964103825

Publisher: H. E. Taylor Schoettle, 2002

Synopsis

A Naturalist's Guide to the Okefenokee Swamp describes the ecology, geology and natural history of the Okefenokee Swamp and surrounding pinelands. The commonly-seen plants and animals are identified with illustrations, and their ecological relationships detailed. A section on human history emphasizes mankind's impact on the Okefenokee and describes the lives of swampers who braved the hardships of living there. The Okefenokee Swamp is a REFUGE for plants and animals in the wake of their diminishing habitats. The refuge, however, is not the paradise often perceived by visitors to the swamp. The water and peaty soils are highly acidic, lacking in nutrients and low in oxygen which diminish the diversity of both plants and animals. Human habitation of the swamp was uncommon, but fugitives from every period of history took refuge there. Throughout the swamp a haunting loveliness is created by the tall, gaunt cypress trees; gray green with Spanish moss. The prairies, spangled with water-lilies, golden club, and flowering shrubs, provide for multitudes of herons, egrets and ibis feeding in the shallows. When entering a prairie, a great silence leaves one with the same of sense of awe as when entering a cathedral. The grunts of pig frogs, the drone of curious carpenter bees and the trumpeting of sandhill cranes in the distance periodically pierce the silence. In the silence, one hears the reedy sounds of dragonfly wings, the incessant clicking of cricket frogs, and the soft rustling of lily pads being lifted by the wind. This somber beauty and mystery attracted the author to study the Okefenokee and to share his insights gathered from years of paddling and research.

Edition details

• Publisher: H. E. Taylor Schoettle
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0964103826
• ISBN 13: 9780964103825
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 156